Time Heals All
by RevenantReaper337
Summary: She was a shell of a teenage girl mourning the loss of her brother. He was a lonely smart mouthed rocket mechanic living in isolation. A quirk of fate brought them together, and now they may be the only thing standing between a callous despot and the destruction of the Solana galaxy. Join them as they learn to live, laugh, and perhaps even find love. OC insert. Covers R&C 1
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**Author****'****s note:**

**Back once again with another story. Sorry about the lack of update for Trouble Shooter, but I felt the need to finally get this thing published before I re-edit it once more. This is the second of three variants of a Ratchet and Clank story I****'****ve been writing on and off, as mentioned in the author's note on Trouble Shooter, and is more or less a straight character insert into R&amp;C 1 with the intention of carrying on through the series. Though some of the elements and characters are similar to afore mentioned story, they are completely unrelated in terms of plot, and the only thing the main characters of both share is their name and personality.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check my other stories once. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank evil Ratchet96 for the review and encouragement. Rest assured, a new chapter of Trouble Shooter is in the works.**

**Thank you all, and please enjoy. **

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**[Addendum December 30th 2015]**

**Started going back over the story to fix grammar, spelling, and general formatting to make it both easier to read and fit in with the same style as the sequel. Those who have read this story before may notice that I've also tweaked and rewritten bits here and there to improve the narrative and make it flow more smoothly now that I've got a better grip on storytelling; hopefully raising both the overall quality and general readability. Chapters 1-13 have now been re-uploaded, with the rest to follow in the coming weeks.**

**[Addenum January 6th 2016]**

**Chapters 14-19 also fixed and re-uploaded.**

**[Addenum January 13th 2016]**

**Chapters 20-26 fixed and updated. Moved review replies for chapter 26 to its own page.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

**Arrival**

* * *

**Scottish Highlands, Earth**

**Milky Way Galaxy**

**August 16th 2012**

**10:34pm GMT**

The dew encrusted grass glistened in the pale moonlight as Ellen sat on the hillside, softly breathing in the still night air. In the eyes of her fellow students, Ellen was a fairly good looking girl, not that she particularly cared. Standing around 5'7", Ellen had a lithe, toned body with an athletic build; a result of her constant hiking and cross country jaunts. Creamy coloured, lightly flushed skin, taut musculature, and flowing curves neatly accented her figure. Her heart shaped face was framed by a shoulder length mane of dark red hair which curved inwards towards the tips, only serving to enhance her facial features. She had a small mouth with pink, thin lips, a small nose with a dusting of freckles which petered out over her cheeks, and a pair of entrancing pale blue eyes.

Her attire consisted of a mid-thigh length tartan kilt secured with a silver buckled black belt, and a black graphic T-shirt that encompassed her figure while being neither figure hugging nor too baggy. A pair of worn, brown hiking boots encased her feet as well as white mid-calf length socks. On her right wrist was a Timex analogue watch with a brown leather strap, and on her left a multi-coloured braided bracelet; a gift from Natalie, her best friend from secondary school, who now lived at the opposite end of the British Isles.

Ellen wasn't exactly your typical teenager. Numerous boys tried to hit on her, and several girls had taken exception to her attracting the attention of 'their men'. But Ellen simply brushed them aside while ignoring them as much as possible; having little to no interest in juvenile boys who looked down on her interests as 'nerdy' and 'boring'. Ellen loved to look at the stars; the constellations, the vast magnitude of space fascinated her. She had devoured volumes of books, spent hours on the internet, and camped out under the stars as often as possible in her pursuit of knowledge; not that she didn't have other pursuits as well. Thanks to her extended family she had a broad range of skills, ranging from basic engineering and computer hacking to mixed martial arts and cross country hiking, to name but a few. But all of that had suddenly ground to a halt. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Ellen reached down to the dogtags that hung around her neck; fingers gently caressing the imprinted metal beneath her touch.

"Simon... why?" Her words were wistful, tinged with a faint Scottish accent; the pain of loss evident in every syllable as she gripped the dogtags in a balled fist and stared off into the night sky. It had been three days since the family had received the news.

Simon Bryn Pearce; Royal Marine, loving son, and doting brother. Killed in action.

She had taken it so hard; locking herself in her room for two days straight and crying into her pillow, not leaving even to eat in her attempts to avoid all human contact. On the night of the third day she decided to get some air, and so after sneaking out of her bedroom window, Ellen began the trek to her favourite part of the glen near to her house. A small hillock provided an unrivalled view of the local loch, and on a clear night like this, with the moon and the stars shining down on the water, it created the illusion of a infinite field of light stretching for as far as the eye could see.

It was such a beautiful sight, and one that allowed her turbulent mind to wander to the fond memories she had of her sibling. The day he took her mountaineering up Ben Nevis' southern face. The precious days he spent with the family on what little leave he had. The cocky, confident tone Simon used as he sought to comfort her when she had been bullied at school. His surprise visit on her 17th birthday. Now, the memories were all she had left. Sighing, she looked to the heavens with trepidation. "God, if you're really up there, show me a sign. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to move on?"

A flash of movement caught her eye, a faint smile touching her lips at the streak of light crossing the night's sky. A shooting star. When she was younger, Simon had told her that a wish upon a star would always come true if the person who wished was in great need. No one could replace Simon, but there had to be someone out there who could love her, understand her. Make her feel whole again. Closing her eyes and reciting her wish to the heavens, a dull rumbling reverberated through the air almost as soon as the words had escaped Ellen's mouth. Blinking her eyelids open rapidly, the redhead's brow contorted in confusion as the shooting star appeared to change course and suddenly seemed to be getting a whole lot bigger. Rooted to the spot, her eyes widened with panic as she realised the falling objects trajectory. It was coming straight at her.

"Oh shit!"

Ellen scrambled to her feet, her tan-coloured satchel with matching shoulder strap thumping against her waist as she took off in a flat sprint. Chancing a look over her shoulder, she saw that it was practically on top of her; legs burning with the strain as she pushed herself further still in a last ditch effort to avoid being flattened. Busy as she was trying to survive, the redhead didn't notice the peculiar tendrils of energy snaking forth from the meteorite as it burned up in the atmosphere; several surging forth just before it could impact the earth and enveloping her form. Ellen convulsed in shock as the energy lanced through her body, an excruciating pain tearing at her heart, and then nothing.

Nothing but darkness.

When she didn't return that night, Ellen's worried parents called the police. An extensive search turned up next to nothing aside from her boot-prints leading to the smouldering impact crater left by the meteorite; seeming as if she had been vaporised or vanished into thin air. When a detective finally came to bring the bad news several hours later, Ellen's father sought to comfort his distraught wife. "Don't worry, my love. Wherever she is, she's safe now, with Simon watching over her."

The poor woman broke down in tears, and he didn't feel far behind. First Simon, and now Ellen.

Their baby was gone.

* * *

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.738 Galactic calendar**

**11:13am local time**

Ratchet stretched lazily with a grunting sigh, leaving the cool confines of the garage that doubled as his home and into the harsh sunlight outside. Just another day on a backwater planet called Veldin, the galaxy's equivalent of the middle of nowhere. _'But not for much longer...'_

A slight smile crept across the Lombax's face as he resumed the task he'd spent the entire morning working on. He'd really lucked out this time. Months of preparation, hard work, and saving every bolt he could from his job as a rocket mechanic had finally yielded what he'd always dreamed of. His very own space ship; his ticket to finally getting off this rock. Granted, it wasn't exactly top of the line; in fact, it belonged on a scrap heap more than anything else. But it was _his._

Hopping up on to a crate he had dragged into place to make up for his relatively short stature, Ratchet proceeded to use his wrench to adjust the guidance system inside the currently exposed panel on the front of the ship. After tweaking it just right, he stood back to admire his handy work in silence before pressing a glowing blue button on his left glove; a calm, feminine, monotone voice springing forth from unseen speakers in the device. "Final step: attach robotic ignition system. Thank you for using Helpdesk technology."

_'Damn it. Where am I gonna get one of those?'_ Ratchet could only sigh in frustration, knowing that he was that much closer, yet still unable to realise his dream of exploring the galaxy.

Now that he had nothing to do, he began to reflect on his life so far. He didn't exactly have many friends beyond the occasional visitor to his garage to ask him to fix something for them, and that was more acquaintances than true friendship. Thanks to his obsessive work ethic of late, he had little time to form relationships or socialise with others his age. Being on a sparsely populated dust ball of a planet probably didn't help. As for girls, he could just forget it. Ratchet snorted in amusement, for the one thing Veldin did not possess in abundance was hot and available lombax girls, and the few females he had met of other species didn't think he was dating material.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any other lombaxes during his short life so far. Maybe they were out there somewhere, on other worlds; there had to be somebody who knew. Ratchet closed his eyes in thought as his heart sank. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone. What good was traversing the stars if there was no one to share it with him? He wanted- no, needed companionship more than he had ever known. The lombax's eyes turned to the azure sky, his mind picturing the stars beyond. Somewhere out there was the adventure he craved. Somewhere out there was someone who could relate to him for who he was, rather than what he was.

All he needed... was a sign

A deafening roar caught his attention, eyes widening at the sight of the burning ship as it streaked overhead before ploughing into the ground; causing the very earth to shudder under the impact. Gripping his wrench tightly, Ratchet eagerly took off towards the crash site; the distant trail of smoke guiding the way as he bounded over the rough terrain and cleaved through both hostile robots and indigenous life that stood in his way. _'Finally, something interesting on this dustbowl.'_

After dispatching the last of the robots around the crash site with his Bomb Glove, Ratchet carefully approached the charred remains of the mangled spaceship. In the middle of the crater lay a single figure; motionless, dirty, yet otherwise unmarked. Turning the body over, he quickly realised that it was a female, though not of any species he recognised, and that she was still alive. Unconscious maybe, but still breathing. _'How is she still alive after a crash like that? I'd better get her somewhere safe.'_

Heaving her up in his arms bridal style, he stooped to pick up a weird metal thing that looked salvageable before beginning the trek back home. Looking back down at her peaceful looking form, he couldn't help but smile.

If this was a sign of things to come, then life was about to get that little bit more interesting...

* * *

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Need improvement? **

**As I previously mentioned, this is the second of three Ratchet &amp; Clank stories I have been writing, and as such I****'****d like to know whether it****'****s worth continuing with or if you'd prefer one of the other variants. It just helps me decide which one I should concentrate on, though knowing me, I****'****ll probably end up writing for all three anyway.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	2. Chapter 2: A New World

**Author****'****s note:**

**Okay, that I did not expect.**

**Seriously, 60 plus views, 3 reviews, AND a favourite? For just the first chapter?! That****'****s more than both my other stories combined! Honestly, I****'****m overwhelmed by your responses, so much so that I****'****ve been working my ass off to get a new chapter out as fast as possible. This is probably the fastest I****'****ve ever written a chapter from scratch, and as such I can only hope it****'****s up to par.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - Thank you, I****'****m glad you like it.**

**Guest - Me too, that****'****s why I thought I****'****d have a crack at it myself. Hope you like the new chapter.**

**Destiny - Wait no more. I can only hope you enjoy it as much as the last chapter.**

**A special thanks to AustinGamer117 for becoming my first follower, I can****'****t begin to express how happy you****'****ve made me.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**With out further ado, let****'****s get this show on the road. **

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

**A New World**

* * *

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**9:37am local time**

Ellen could feel a steady thumping in her skull as she came to with a groan. Pulling herself into a sitting position, the night's events came crashing down on her. By all rights she should be dead, and yet her lungs still took in humid air.

_'Humid...'_

Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't home. As her bleary vision began to clear, she realised that she was lying on a beat up old sofa in what looked like a garage workshop. Slowly sitting up, Ellen took in what little there was to see; a fridge, a few workbenches with what looks like a high-tech toaster sat on it, a chunky looking radio, and a single door set into the far wall. The front of the workshop was open to the elements, the faint sounds of a drill or angle grinder wafting in on the humid breeze.

She staggered to her feet, shaky legs carrying her out of the workshop and towards the increasing sounds of metal work, hoping to find an answer to what was going on. Ellen raised a hand to block the harsh sunlight streaming into her eyes as she blearily took in the increasingly arid environment. Everything was so bloody warm! sweat trickled down her chin as she focused her gaze on finding a landmark of some kind, anything to let her know just where on earth she was. It looked like a wasteland of spiky plants, craggy rocks, shear cliffs, and sand as far as the eye could see. The hanger that she had been occupying, for that is what it resembled, was surrounded by a tall, metallic perimeter fence, while she could see structures made from similar material attached to some of the cliffs, and what appeared to be water towers scattered around.

_'Water...' _It hadn't occurred to her just how goddamn thirsty she was. Her dry throat felt like she had screamed herself hoarse, and her lips felt cracked and chapped. _'Just how long have I been here?'_

Suddenly, Ellen realised that the metal work sounds she had been following had stopped. Turning her gaze to the right, her eyes widened at the impossible sight before her. Sitting among a stack of spare parts and discarded machinery hovered what could only be described as a spaceship; an honest to God _spaceship_ straight out of a science fiction movie. And in front of that stood something that caused her overworked mind to grind to a halt.

_'Is that... a giant... frigging... space cat?!'_

Standing around five feet tall, covered in short golden-yellow fur with brown tiger stripes, and wearing nothing but what looked like the bottom half of a sage-coloured fighter pilot's jumpsuit, some kind of black buckled harness around it's chest, a pair of thick elbow length gloves, and a brown leather flying cap was, indeed, a giant frigging space cat.

And it was staring right at her.

{()}

Ratchet was worried. According to his chronometer, it had been over eight and a half hours since his 'guest' had taken up residence on his couch, and she still hadn't regained consciousness. He was no doctor, and tended to rely upon Nanotech to solve virtually every medical problem that cropped up; meaning that beyond the liberal dose he'd already given her, he was at a loss for what to do. As far as he could tell there was nothing physically wrong with the girl, so he had left her to rest on his couch while he alternated between working on his ship and periodically checked in on her. Just as he finished reattaching a loose coupling, his ears pricked up at the sound of boots on the loosely packed sand and scree behind him. Putting down his wrench, the lombax turned around to see his now awakened guest gazing around in bewilderment. Taking a few steps forward, he stopped suddenly as her ice blue eyes focused on his slightly smaller form.

_'Why is everyone taller than me? Oh well, better make a good first impression.'_

"Hey!" he greeted with a wave and a smile. "Guess you're finally up, huh? Y'know, you kinda had me worried for a while back there..." Ratchet's words trailed off as he realised that her gaze no longer rested on him, but on a spot a little above him and to his left, a darkening scowl replacing the look of confusion as her eyes narrowed at him in anger. Puzzled at the sudden mood shift, Ratchet followed her gaze, his eyes widening slightly in realisation as he connected the dots.

When he had first found the girl, her clothing had been torn in places, covered in dirt, and smelt of burning smoke. After he had done what he could for her injuries, he had decided to do something nice for his guest and clean her clothes while she recovered. He had removed her shirt and kilt, proceeding to clean them both and aired them outside. He had left her underwear and boots on; he wasn't _that_ kind of guy, and having never encountered laces before he didn't know how to remove her boots without breaking them. Since he had no clothing in her size, and it was almost 90 degrees outside, he had decided to let her sleep on the couch as is.

In retrospect, he reflected, it might have been a mistake.

Holding up a gloved hand in placation, he slowly inched away from the seething female. "Now, let's all just try to remain calm. There's a perfectly reas-" Ratchet rolled to the side to avoid the lethal combination of raging oestrogen and Omni-Wrench attempting to cleave through his skull. "Hey! That's my wrench!"

She didn't seem to care as she continued to swipe at him and spout angry babble in her strange tongue while he ran like his life depended on it. Because it did. In desperation, he fiddled with the translator app on his Wrist Com and set it decipher her ranting into something he could actually understand. It took another four circuits of his ship and some creative dodging before his translator chimed with a positive result.

"-ing pervy little bastard! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"

{()}

Ellen was angry - no, livid. Seeing her clothing hanging over a crate, realising she was stood outside in her underwear, and that knowing grin on that cat thing had been too much. Anger, embarrassment and mortification had culminated in her chasing an alien feline, in her undies, while wielding a wrench like a battle axe; screaming obscenities all the while. She had no idea how long they had been at it, but just as she began to flag and tire, her potential victim spoke once more, and in English no less!

"Hey, can you understand me now?"

Ellen staggered to a halt, leaning heavily on the wrench as she filled her lungs with warm air. "Uh... yeah. Yeah, I can."

The alien cat, apparently not even the slightest bit out of breath, seemed to grin in relief as he replied. "Great! So... now that you're not trying to kill me, you mind putting down the wrench so we can talk?"

She glared at him, fingers unconsciously tightening their grip on the weapon's shaft. "About what?" she hissed. "You abducting a girl and trying to take advantage of her while she's knocked out, huh?"

The feline's eyes widened, and he waved his hands frantically in front of his face as panic set in. "Abduc- what?! No! no! no! You got it all wrong! I'm not that kind of guy! Your ship crashed, you were injured and out cold. You were out for so long that I thought I'd clean your stuff and get some of the smoke out of it." He scratched the back of his head as looked at her sheepishly "Guess I should have thought it through first, huh?"

Ellen's stance relaxed a little, but her brows knitted in confusion and worry. "Ship? Crash? What are you talking about?"

The furry alien pointed with a gloved hand to a plume of smoke rising from a craggy plateau a few miles distant. "A ship just dropped out of orbit over there and crashed. I found you in the impact crater, bought you back here and treated your wounds. That's it, I swear!"

"And where is 'here' exactly?"

"My place, of course." At her blank expression he pushed on. "On Veldin?" Still blank. "In the Solana galaxy? Come on, you must have had some idea when your ship... went... Are you okay?"

Ellen's legs felt like jelly as she slumped to her knees in shock, her mind overwhelmed by the magnitude of what she had just seen and heard. If what the alien had said was true, and she wasn't hallucinating or dead, then that meteorite had some how transported her to another world; maybe even another dimension altogether! A sense of wonder tapered by a fear of the unknown warred for control. Though she was amazed at the prospect of intelligent extraterrestrial life, she had for all intents and purposes disappeared off the face of the earth. Panic started to set in as her thoughts turned to her loved ones. Mum and dad... gran and granddad... her friends from school and college. How long had she been gone? Did they even _know_ she was gone? Did they think she was dead? Before her trail of thought could go any further, a gloved hand on the shivering redhead's shoulder brought her focus to a pair of concerned jade eyes.

{()}

Ratchet watched the clearly shaken girl with more than a little concern. The fiery anger her eyes once held had been replaced with a vulnerability that made his stomach clench. He had seen that look on her face far too often before, for it was a match for his own more times than he cared to admit; every casual rejection, every failed relationship had made him feel that bit more empty inside. She looked so lost and alone that, despite her earlier violent reaction, he felt the need to provide some reassurance, no matter how small. She didn't even notice as he slowly eased the wrench out of her hand and crouched down to her level. It wasn't until the lombax gently placed a hand on her shoulder that her icy blue eyes snapped to focus on him, already shimmering with unshed tears.

"Hey now, no need for that. What's your name?" Ratchet had to strain his ears to hear her hoarse reply.

"Ellen..."

"Name's Ratchet. Look Ellen, I don't know what you've been through, but I'm here for you if you need me, okay?"

She merely nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. With the caution one might use around a wild animal, Ratchet slowly wrapped his unoccupied arm around her and pulled her into an awkward hug. She sniffled into his fur as he made soothing motions on the small of her back, being careful not to stray anywhere inappropriate as one of her own smooth skinned appendages snaked around his mid-section. After several minutes of sniffling on her part and soothing noises on his own, Ellen slowly pushed them apart; her eyes slightly reddened as she gave him a weak smile.

"Thanks. You must think I'm a right mess."

Ratchet shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. We all have our bad days, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry about the whole... you know..."

Realisation dawned as he gestured to her state of undress. Ellen flushed crimson as she scrambled to her feet, covering herself with her arms some what unsuccessfully. "T-turn around! I'm practically naked!"

Ratchet winced at the nigh shriek grating on his sensitive hearing. "But I've already seen you-"

"Turn. Around. _Now._"

Throwing up his hands in defeat, Ratchet slowly turned and backed away. The fire in her eyes had returned and he wasn't looking forward to repeat performance of what happened earlier. "Okay, I'll just sorta stay over here while you... do your thing."

So saying, Ratchet retrieved his wrench and returned to fine tuning his ship, if only to keep his mind occupied. Though he continued to work, the lombax's heart wasn't in it; his thoughts continuing to drift back to the girl. He had to admit that she was gorgeous; the sculpted frame, smooth skin, and cute button nose all combined into one attractive package. But it was the eyes that held his attention the most; those soulful pits of blue ice that burned with quiet strength, yet held an air of sadness that he could all too easily relate to. He wanted to get to know the girl behind the eyes, to find what troubled her so deeply.

_'But I already screwed up once, and we've barely just met.'_ He sighed deeply. _'There's no way she'd ever go for a guy like me.'_

{()}

With a huff, Ellen stalked over to where her clothing lay along with her satchel; quickly dressing as her thoughts smouldered with the same intensity of her scarlet cheeks. She couldn't believe she had fallen apart like that, she was stronger than this! If it hadn't been for that damnable fuzz ball and his warm tone that... that...

_'Christ, he reminds me too much of Simon...'_

It had been but a moment of weakness, but the similarities between the two had been enough to momentarily break the dam she had built up around herself to keep her emotions in check. When he had hugged her it felt so comforting and familiar that she could pretend, for just a little while, that her brother was still here for her. Ellen shook her head to dislodge that thought, but before she could brood any further, the redhead was interrupted by a cultured sounding voice from directly behind her.

"Interesting."

She spun on her heel, only to witness Ratchet fall flat on his ass with a startled yelp as her eyes settled on- She blinked twice.

_'...A walking... toaster?'_

What Ellen had previously mistaken previously as a 'high-tech toaster' in Ratchet's kitchen space was apparently a tiny silver metal robot, with glowing green optics and a dinky antennae on his head that was tipped with a blinking red light. Seemingly blind to the incredulous stare he was getting from her, the robot continued to converse with Ratchet as he ambled forward with a faint whining of servos. "You are quite handy with your wrench."

Ratchet, having dusted himself off, postured with a grin. "You bet! I built that ship with it."

Watching the lombax gesturing to said vessel, the robot seemed to cock it's head in thought before coming to a decision. "Hmm... I am currently in search of someone who could be of assistance with saving the solar system. Do you know where I could find that fellow?"

Both organics followed the robot's gesture to a large poster adorning one wall of Ratchet's home. The image portrayed what looked like a ridiculously cartoonish representation of an adult human male; huge chest, over muscled arms, a jaw so solid you could cut diamond on it, and a pair of proportionally small legs. What made Ellen cringe though was not the grating smile, or the fact he only had two meaty digits on either hand plus thumbs. Nope, what set her on edge was his attire; or rather what it was made of. _Spandex._ The guy was obviously supposed to be some kind of super hero, but did he have to wear something so gaudy that left so little to the imagination. Seriously, ew.

"Well, he's on the radio every week," Ratchet replied. "Other than that, no. Hey, what's with all this 'save the solar system' stuff anyway?"

As it turned out, Ellen didn't like the answer.

Reaching into a compartment in it's chest cavity, the robot withdrew... another robot; this one a spindly little hovering thing with camera shutters for optics and, to Ellen's surprise, a wide rectangular head that suddenly extended into the equivalent of a 19 inch flat screen TV. The screen quickly flickered into life to display what looked like the bridge on a starship against a backdrop of stars, and in the foreground was an alien that looked like the unholy love child of Simon Cowell and a prohibition era gangster; albeit with faintly purplish skin, solid cyan eyes, and a pear-shaped head.

"Hello, citizens of-" A slide depicting a luscious earth like planet appeared on screen with 'Novalis' in bright white letters stencilled underneath in English, surprisingly enough. The slide quickly disappeared to be replaced with the slippery sounding alien once more, interspersed with a selection of cued imagery

"My race, the blarg, have a small problem. Our planet has become so polluted, overpopulated and poisonous that we are no longer able to dwell here. But I, Chairman Drek, have a solution. We are constructing a _pristine_ new world using only the choice selection of planetary components available. So, what does this mean to you, you might ask? Using highly sophisticated technology, which you couldn't _possibly_ understand, we will be extracting a large portion of your planet and adding it to our new one. Unfortunately, this change in mass will cause your planet to spin out of control and _drift_ into the sun where it will _explode_ into a flaming ball of gas; but, of course, sacrifices must be made. Thank you for your co-operation"

From off camera, another voice could be heard. "Annnddd cut!"

"And if you don't like it, you can take your whiny snivelling snot nosed populations, form a line behind me and kiss my-" Drek seemed to stare off into space for a heartbeat before appearing to address the other voice. "What do you mean, we're still on? Well turn it off, you idiot!"

After the transmission cut off, the silver robot somehow managed to pack the other one back inside it's storage cavity before turning back to the two organics; one incredulous, the other horrified.

_'How could anyone... What if he goes after Earth? We'd never stand a chance!'_ Ellen broke from her uneasy reverie in time to hear Ratchet voice his own sentiment.

"The people on those planets are hosed! Well, good luck getting Captain Qwark to help you."

"Actually, you could help me," the diminutive machine replied. "If you could use your ship to take me to the coordinates contained in this infobot, I might be able to gather further information there."

Ratchet shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. I'm missing a crucial component of the ship."

A few seconds of silence passed as the robot examined the ship before piping up once again. "The robotic ignition system."

Ratchet's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How'd you know that?"

"I, sir, happen to be equipped with the latest in robotic ignition systems. My programming allows me to start any ship that I choose."

Ratchet rubbed his chin contemplatively. "So, I agree to take you to this... wherever it is... and you get this ship started for me?"

"That is what I am proposing."

No sooner had he finished his sentence when suddenly the relative peace and quiet was shattered by a pair of predatory vessels streaking overhead before coming in to land nearby; the blue painted mechanised pilots all too familiar to two thirds of those present

"Deal!" In seconds Ratchet had dove into the cockpit and was soon spooling up the engines, the small silver robot managing to clamber in after him. Ellen stood frozen in indecision for a moment until jade eyes locked on to her own. "Hey Ellen, you coming?"

Determination filled her. She so desperately wanted to see home again, but if she didn't do something there may not be a home to return to. Putting actions to her feelings, the human shouldered her satchel and eased herself into the back seat of the cockpit as the canopy descended; the ship beginning to lift off soon after with a rumbling of turbines. The azure haze of the mid-morning sky soon disappeared as they passed through the upper atmosphere, quickly giving way to a sight that took her breath away.

"_Wow..._"

An infinite field of stars stretching as far as the eye could see, each one representing a potential host to new worlds and new life. Craning her neck, she could just about make out the mass of coppery browns that made up the surface of Veldin rapidly disappearing from view. Despite the situation, Ellen couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement. She was in a position that no human had ever been before; on a _spaceship_ flying through _space_ with an _alien_ and a sentient _robot!_ No picture or CGI rendition could ever compare to the sheer magnitude of the real thing.

"Please return your appendages to the steering mechanism, sir."

Feeling the ship jerk suddenly, Ellen reluctantly tore her gaze away from the spectacle outside; focusing her attention on the conversation between the vessel's other two occupants.

"Huh? Oh right, heh. Sorry." Ratchet quickly corrected their course before turning back to the robot. "Oh, by the way, you can stop calling me 'sir'. The name's Ratchet, and this is Ellen."

Noticing the sudden attention on her, Ellen gave an awkward smile and wave. "Uh, hi."

The robot gave a polite nod. "Pleased to make your acquaintances, sir, ma'am. My serial number is B54296-" Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as the ship unintentionally jolted to the left, sending the diminutive machine smack into the side of the cockpit with a reverberating clang.

"Oops! I'll... just call you Clank for short. Hang on a sec."

Ellen helped the newly christened and slightly dazed Clank to sit back on his seat, looking up just in time to see a brilliant blue and green orb rapidly filling the windshield. "Uh, Ratchet? That's a _planet;_ you might want to slow down..."

The exterior of the ship began to glow cherry red as it rapidly plunged through the atmosphere, Ratchet seeming to push buttons and pull levers at random. "You do know where the brakes are on this thing, right?

...

"_Right?_"

The look on his face told her all she needed to know.

_'Oh crap...'_

* * *

**So there we have it; the second chapter and we are finally off Veldin and into the game proper. It's probably going to be a while until the next update since I still need to replay the game in order to make sure I've got a feel for how the story should progress. That, and I really need to start working on Trouble Shooter again before I get distracted. I tried to make the chemistry between the two leads a bit more down to earth while injecting a little humour, but I think the quality started to drop towards the end. Let me know what you think.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they're posted.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	3. Chapter 3: Unhappy Landings

**Author****'****s note:**

**I know I said that I was going to start concentrating on Trouble Shooter, but I****'****ve had a bit of writers block. I know what needs to happen next plot wise, but I haven****'****t managed to sort out how it will happen. In the meantime, I****'****ve managed to hammer out another chapter for Time Heals All, which is still my most popular story so far.**

**The response to this story has been quite frankly astonishing, with nearly triple the number of views in the space of just over a week since my last update. In fact, for the time being I intend to make this my main story, with regular updates every week or two.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - I****'****m glad you approve, I tried to add my own original slant on their first meeting.**

**Destiny - I****'****m relieved someone gets my brand of humour, I was afraid it was going to fall flat on it****'****s face. Thank you.**

**I****'****d also like to give a shout out to AustinGamer117 (who also favourited my story, sorry I forgot to mention that last time) , Foxyfellow, and Victory Goddess for following this story. You people have made my day**

**As always, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**So, without further delay, here****'****s chapter 3. **

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**Unhappy Landings**

* * *

**Tobruk Crater, Novalis**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**10:42am local time**

They say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. They are, of course, a bunch of lying bastards. There is nothing in the least bit 'good' about plummeting through the atmosphere of an alien planet, being thrown from the wreckage of an exploding spaceship as it smacks full speed into a cliff face, followed by a twenty foot free fall to the ground that knocks the stuffing out of you and is likely to result in broken bones.

Unfortunately, this was the situation that Ellen faced as she lay dazed on her back with a odd sense of deja vu. She could feel the tickling sensation of grass beneath her, unfocused eyes staring up at a brilliantly blue, almost cloudless sky. As her thoughts became more coherent, she propped herself up; noting the exotic looking plants and oddly shaped trees that occupied the elevated ridge she had landed on. Were it not for the muffled sound of distant spaceships flying overhead and what sounded like the distant crump of explosions, It would have been picturesque. Looking to her right she found Ratchet stretching an arm out to her with Clank stood beside him, both looking none the worse for wear.

"Ellen, you alright?"

Nodding, she grasped his hand and let him pull her up, using it to steady herself as her equilibrium settled. "I guess so... though I can't feel my ass. What the hell happened?"

Ratchet shifted uncomfortably "I... kinda messed up the landing. Long story short, we're not leaving the way we came in."

"I guessed as much," she deadpanned at the sight of the still smouldering chunks of debris that occupied the clearing. "So, what do we do now?"

"Perhaps we could procure a ship from one of the inhabitants," Clank pondered.

"If there are any left..." Following Ratchet's gaze, the trio took in the sight of columns of smoke and fire drifting from the distant cityscape; black-painted attack ships tearing through the skies unopposed while strafing and bombing all over.

"We should get going."

Ellen turned to look in the lombax's direction in time to see Clank leap on to his back, folding up into the same form from when she had first seen him. With a sigh, she shouldered her ever present satchel bag before turning to follow them toward what looked like a massive drainage pipe interspersed with pillars of flat-topped stone surrounded by flowing water. Scrambling from rock to rock, Ellen got an impression of just how athletic Ratchet was. He jumped and flipped over falling stalactites, scrambled up a pair of giant moving pistons and on to a protruding balcony where he promptly cleaved through a pair of bird-like yellow robots with an ease that made her wince.

_'He's like a little furry ninja...'_

Climbing up a mismatched staircase, the trio made their way through a sliding metal doorway and into the interior of what was beginning to look like a water processing plant. Avoiding spinning fans and leaping over the canal that bisected the room, Ratchet made short work of the squat gun-toting yellow robot guards before moving on with Ellen close to his heels. The next chamber was much like the previous one, only much larger and minus anything actively trying to kill them. Managing to cross the twin canals without getting drenched, they used a series of pumps and pistons to reach the walkway above before reaching an observation deck of sorts with a panoramic view of the burning city and surrounding landscape. What grabbed Ellen's attention however was the exceptionally large blue-skinned alien, as in easily twice her girth, in brown overalls bent over some technical looking... thingy.

"Dadblast it!"

Ratchet being Ratchet couldn't resist making a jibe as he nudged the redhead beside him, snickering while he pointed at the significant posterior in front of them. "Look, plumber's crack."

Ellen tried and failed to restrain a snort of laughter. No matter how childish, it was the first source of amusement she'd had since being torn away from home, damn be the consequences. Although the object of their shared mirth didn't seem too pleased.

"What did you just say?!" Standing up to his full height, Ellen finally got a good look at the plumber as he turned around; taking note of the short black spikes on his shoulders and pear-shaped head, alongside the impressive facial hair and annoyed look on his face.

"I said 'Look, the plumber's back'," Ratchet replied nonchalantly.

Oddly enough, the thick set man didn't look too convinced. "Alright wise guy, shouldn't you folks be on one of them escape transports?"

"Escape transports?" Ellen questioned with a raised brow.

"Newsflash: giant robots attacking!" the plumber gestured with mock hysteria. "The escape transports are taking all the rich folks off this galdarn planet."

"So... why aren't you on one?" asked the ever tactful lombax.

"Socioeconomic disparity."

Both lombax and human blinked in confusion, though it was Ratchet that vocalised a response. "Say what?"

"He hasn't got enough bolts," Clank clarified.

Ellen blinked in surprise, having surmised that 'bolts' had to be the local currency. "Really? I thought plumbers made good money." Back home they certainly would have. Other than doctors and politicians, they were probably one of the highest paid professions around.

Nodding, the plumber continued with a scowl. "I probably would if it weren't for my clients being a bunch of cheapskates. Working people like me have to wait for Captain Qwark to save us."

"Well, got anything worth a lot of bolts?"

In response to the lombax's question, the plumber pulled a slightly disoriented looking infobot from his back pocket. Ellen took an involuntary step back as he held it out to them, not wanting to be close to anything that had been near his ass. "I got this thing. Shows two _weirdoes_ ditching their ship. It's got coordinates to a desert planet too"

"An infobot. Ratchet, Ellen, we could use that." Nodding in agreement with their shortest member, Ratchet brought up the device on his left arm before pressing a series of buttons on a holographic interface.

_'Wireless transfer?'_ Ellen pondered, a theory seemingly proven correct as the plumber raised a similar device.

With a nod of approval, the large alien dropped the infobot before running to the opposite side of the room and diving head first down a pipeline like it was a water slide. "Geronimo!"

A few seconds of stunned silence passed before Ellen hesitantly broke it. "Did... he just..."

"Slide down a sewer pipe?" Ratchet continued. "Yeah... Alright, let's see what we've got."

So saying, the infobot's head expanded into a screen just like the previous one had, only this one looked like surveillance footage from the cockpit of a small ship flying through space. At the controls sat a pair of nautic green skinned aliens; similar to the plumber but with enough differences to mark them as a separate species, most obvious of which was the slimmer build. The one on the left wore a tie-dye T-shirt, a black and red visor perched atop his head and a worried expression on his face as he frantically pushed buttons and tried to steer through a veritable storm of missiles that kept detonating closer and closer.

"Mayday, mayday! This is the solarship Radical. We seem to be under attack from the planet's surface!"

The other alien was the polar opposite. Clad in a purple suit with tinted glasses perched on his nose, his feet were propped up on the control panel while he tapped away at his phone without a care in the world. "Relax Skid, it looks like some sort of fireworks display. Probably in your honour"

A missile suddenly blew by, clearing the ship by inches before exploding; Skid ducking reflexively as he dodged out of the blast radius. "Whoa-ho-ho! That was close!"

Unfortunately, that's where their luck ran out. The camera shook as a missile exploded directly under the ship, causing Skid to yelp while the other guy glared at him. "Pipe down, I can't concentrate!"

"But we've been hit!"

The suited alien, presumably his agent, seemed hesitant for a moment; the camera clearly showing the ship auguring into a dive towards the sand-coloured planet below. "Ah... uh... an unexpected detour. When we land, I'll see if I can scare up an exhibition for ya."

"We're not gonna live that long!"

Skid's agent took his eyes off of his phone long enough to notice the big red missile rapidly closing in on them. "Kid, let's am-scray!"

Putting actions to words, Skid hammered a button in the middle of the console while screaming. "Eject! Eject!"

The two aliens' chairs dropped into the floor just as the missile struck and the screen turned to static. With the message finished, Clank stored the infobot in his chest cavity.

"Did you see that guy on the left?" Ratchet asked. "That was Skid McMarx!"

"I take it he's famous?" Ellen queried.

"Does he know about Captain Qwark?" Clank added.

Ratchet shook his head "He's a pro hoverboarder, I doubt he knows anything about Qwark though. He's always too busy going off about how 'cool' he is."

"Looks like he's in trouble." Clank responded stolidly.

Ratchet couldn't resist a smirk "I'll say! I've never saw him look so freaked out."

"We still need to find a ship of our own if we want to- Um, Ratchet, what are you doing?"

The lombax in question paused at the red-headed girl's question, his wrench hovering over some wooden crates stacked in the corner of the room. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It would appear that you are about to vandalise private property," Clank retorted with narrowed optics.

"Wha- _No!_ I'm... just... gathering resources! 'Sides, didn't you notice all those crates we passed on the way here? I'll bet they're being sent back to Drek, it's not like he'd miss a few."

It made about as much sense as anything else, Ellen supposed. After all, if Drek was willing to destroy entire planets, why wouldn't he steal any abandoned wealth? Before anyone could say another word, the pile of crates lay smashed, spilling piles of shiny nuts, bolts, and cogs over the floor. The human watched agog as the metal trinkets seemed to be sucked into Ratchet's arm mounted device, vanishing without a trace.

"Wha- How?"

"Bolt magnetiser," Ratchet replied smugly. "Collects and breaks down any bolts using nanites to store it in electronic form." He gave a dry chuckle. "You didn't think I was just gonna carry around thousands of bolts in loose change, did you?"

She shook her head in resignation. "Let's just get going, before anything else shows up."

Unfortunately, there seemed to be only one way down.

"No."

"Aw, come on!

"I'm not getting my stuff wet!"

"I could always store it for you, Ellen," Clank offered.

She paused for a moment before finally relenting. "Alright, fine. just... Keep it safe." With a nod from the tiny robot, Ellen's satchel bag disappeared in to the veritable black hole that was his chest cavity.

As it turned out, the sewer pipe wasn't that bad. It was pretty much just like a giant water slide, even the water was cool and clear. Ratchet elected to slide on his belly to keep Clank relatively dry, with Ellen tentatively following suit; it was either that or getting her backside wet through, and she hated the squelchiness associated with sitting down while wearing wet clothing. After a short ride, the pipe brought them out back near to the ridge-come-crash site where they originally started.

"We're going to have to go down there, aren't we?" Ellen gestured to the grassy plateau below that was marred by bomb craters and cheerfully yellow killer robots.

"Yep!"

"You don't have to sound so enthusiastic about it!"

"You kidding? This is the most fun I've had in years! Flying through space, blowing up robots, ah... uh, no offence pal."

"None taken," Clank assured.

"It's alright for you, you've got that bloody great wrench to smack them about with. What have I got?" Ellen Snarked.

Ratchet paused in thought for a moment before reaching to a device on his waistband about the size of a smartphone. As his fingers got to within a few inches, the device gave a brief mechanical whir and a metal gauntlet materialised on his right arm shortly before he pulled it off and extended it to her.

"Here. Take it."

"A metal glove?" She gingerly put it on, stiffening briefly as it reconfigured to fit her slimmer appendage.

Ratchet shook his head with a wry grin. "Better, It's a bomb glove. Gadgetron gives 'em away for free. All you gotta do is squeeze your hand into a fist..." Ellen did so, only to find a small round black ball that looked like the archetypal cartoon bomb, only minus the fuse. "...then you throw the bomb. Simple, right?"

It did seem simple, almost stupidly so. Did this Gadgetron company honestly just hand these things out like sweets at a kid's birthday party?

"Alright. You ready?"

Ellen flexed the fingers on her covered hand before reluctantly nodding an affirmative. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

Ratchet flashed her a winning smile while twirling his wrench in one hand, letting it fall back to rest on his shoulder. "Awesome! Let's do this."

As it turned out, she needn't have worried. As soon as the small lift platform they were riding touched the ground, Ratchet took off like a rocket towards the nearest foe. Dodging it's gunfire, the lombax leapt into the air; bringing down his wrench over his head and burying it into the robot's own. Close behind, Ellen threw the bomb she had in hand at a pair of the winged robots that came scampering around a formation of rocks and shrubbery to their immediate left; already squeezing her hand to dispense another into her closed fist. Though the bomb fell short of her intended target, it was enough to destroy one robot while the follow up attack took care of the other.

Turning her attention back to Ratchet, she found him already laying in to a group three bipedal robots with a pair of scrapped flyers left in his wake. As the lombax rapidly approached his target, it suddenly ceased firing before using a booster on it's back to gain some distance. Not giving it a chance, he hurled his wrench on a horizontal arc that knocked it out of the air; evading the gunfire from the other two robots with a front flip and snatching up his wrench from where it had fallen before using it to decapitate the stunned machine. While Ratchet was busy, Ellen made use of the distraction he provided to toss more bombs at the other two robots. The first went down in a shower of scrap metal before it even knew what was happening, but the second was quicker off the mark; bracketing her with gunfire and forcing Ellen to find cover behind a raised metal platform while she blindly tossed bombs to keep it at bay.

Seeing her in trouble, Ratchet quickly jumped in with a flurry of strikes that finally put the machine down before rushing to check in on a somewhat shaken human girl. "Ellen, you alright? Did you get hit anywhere?"

She shook her head, forcing air in to her lungs while trying to calm her hammering heart rate. "No, at least I don't think so. It's just... I've never been shot at before, and it's kind of scaring the shit out of me."

Ratchet's face faltered as he helped pull her to her feet once more. "I'm sorry, Ellen. I didn't mean to put you at risk like that. Y'know, it's pretty safe back up on that ridge, you could wait up there while I take a look around."

She bristled with anger, pushing aside her fears and allowing the red mist of malevolence to simmer. "I'm not a little girl, Ratchet. I've got my own reason for stopping Drek, and I'll be damned if I sit on the sidelines while you fight alone! I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not!"

So saying she stalked off towards the bridge in the distance with Ratchet running to catch up. "I'm not trying to stop you Ellen, I'm just trying to help!"

She knew that, but stubbornness made her say otherwise. "I don't want your protection..." Her voice trailed off in to a whisper that the lombax's sensitive ears could barely pick up.

"You're not Simon..."

Ratchet faltered in mid-step, a pit of ice forming in his stomach. _'No. No, no, no! I just found a girl I like, and she's already involved with another guy! What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't lose her to some douchebag I've... never... met...'_ His lip curled as an idea began to form. _'That's right... _He's_ not here, _I _am. I'm the one who pulled her from that crash. I'm the one that gave her a shoulder to cry on. If he was that great, he'd be here with her instead of me! All I have to do is get her to see that I'm the better man.'_

Schooling his features, he caught up and kept pace with Ellen just as they ran into another group of gun-toting robots at the base of the bridge. The confrontation was shorter and more violent; Ratchet letting loose his jealousy fed anger on the machines while Ellen vented her own frustration. By the time the mechanised infantry lay scattered in lots of little pieces and the duo had climbed the stair well leading to the bridge across the river, they both felt a damn sight better. It was just as well really, since a black-painted attack aircraft chose that particular moment to perform a strafing run on the structure just as they were about to cross it.

"Look out!"

Fortunately, the archway they took cover within shielded them from the chunks of concrete and rebar kicked up from the explosions. Unfortunately, a trio of the bipedal robots soon jumped on to the bridge using their boosters before taking cover behind various debris around the three huge holes in the amazingly still intact span. Ellen managed to find the right pitch after a few tries to dislodge the machines from their hiding spots while Ratchet flanked them from the side and got to work with his wrench.

They soon made their way across to the other side of the span, descending the opposite stairs three at a time, before running into a swarm of even more robots. This time the flying machines dove at them like angry hornets, while the gun-wielding ones held back and took pot shots from afar. Ratchet wielded his wrench like a baseball bat, swiping at the insect like robots left and right and caving them in when he made a direct hit. Knowing he had her back, Ellen concentrated on slinging as many bombs down range as possible, bracketing the robots whenever they stood too close together and taking them out.

Moving in to a deforested clearing, their eyes snapped up at the roaring of retro rockets. A large, chunky black ship descended from the sky on a pentet of sturdy legs with engines flaring, escorted by a tri-squad of those gun robots... which lasted all of ten seconds under their combined assault. The hiss of hydraulics made both human and lombax perk up, Clank tottering to their side as they watched the descending ramp of the bulky vessel. A bespectacled elderly alien of the same species as the plumber hobbled forth with the aid of a walking stick; the official looking mayoral robes marking him as someone of importance, though he seemed a little on edge.

"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! Who are you? Mercenaries? Torturers? Assassins? I'll tell you anything! Here, take my infobot, it's all I got left."

"Sir, we're not assass-" Clank tried before being interrupted by Ratchet

"Hold on a sec, let's see what he's got."

The infobot's head expanded and the message started to play, though oddly in black and white. On screen, the muscle bound figure of Captain Qwark could be seen caught between a lava pit and a hulking bipedal beast with the remnants of chains wrapped around it's wrists and neck. As it closed in for the kill, Qwark pulled out what looked like a reject ray gun from the 1960's which spectacularly... failed to work. The creature reared back before lunging its head forward in an attempted to devour him only for the transmission to freeze

"Has _this_ ever happened to you?"

Suddenly the grainy video was replaced with a full colour close up of Qwark outside a repair shop against the backdrop of a bustling cityscape. "Hi, I'm Captain Qwark, and believe me, there's nothing worse than starring down a blargian snagglebeast - _from the inside_ \- and knowing your equipment isn't functioning properly! That's why I come to Al's Robo Shack for all my electronic needs. Al has been the exclusive repair shop for my super-electro gadgets since I was knee high to a sand mouse! If Al can't fix it, it's not broke, right Al?"

The camera cut to a portly butter yellow alien wearing a self-advertising green T-shirt, a lab coat, and one of those eye magnifier things that jewellers use. He managed to stutter out an 'Uh...' before Qwark hogged the limelight again.

"You said it pal! So if you're fighting crime, or just fighting grime," he chuckled at his own lame joke. "Come to Al's Robo Shack in Metropolis for all your robotic repairs. Al's Robo Shack: it's _Qwarktastic!_"

The screen faded to black and the infobot went in to Clank's seemingly endless storage space. "Do you know what this means?"

Ratchet snorted with mirth. "Yeah, Captain Qwark has _really_ sold out."

Ellen smirked, while Clank sighed exasperatedly "No, it _means_ Captain Qwark is in Metropolis on planet Kerwan! We could tell him about this invasion."

The sole female present shook her head. "We won't be doing anything unless we find a ship."

The otherwise ignored elderly alien choose that moment to pipe up. "Huh? Uh... a ship? You mean... you're not gonna torture me?" At the deadpan look from the other three, he fumbled on. "Well, as planetary chairman I could arrange for you to borrow our courier ship!"

As if on cue, a green ship with all the aerodynamic properties of a concrete slab descended from the sky and landed on the scattered remains of Ratchet's former ship; causing Ellen to blink in bewilderment. "Well... That was convenient."

Clank nodded cordially towards the planetary official. "You can count on us, sir."

Ratchet on the other hand offered his own particular spiel. "Right. Thank you, your... chairman... shippliness."

After the trio had said their thanks and goodbyes, they traversed the humpback bridge that extended across to the other side of the river and using the elevator to get back up to the ridge where their new ship was now parked; but not before Ratchet insisted on 'liberating' any more crates of bolts he might have missed previously.

_'I swear he's part magpie. Seriously, every shiny thing that comes along...'_

Since there were only two seats, Clank ended up sitting on Ellen's lap while Ratchet went through pre-flight checks from the pilot's seat. Once he was satisfied with the ship's space worthiness, the lombax brought up the galactic star map and the question on all their minds.

"So, where do we go first; Aridia or Kerwan?"

* * *

**So, quite a lot happening here. First of all, plot development; a seed of conflict between our leads. Let****'****s face it, I can****'****t have them fall madly in love from the get go now, can I? Second, combat. Ellen is not a trained soldier; she****'****s a teenage girl thrust in to a hostile situation, though she will get better with time. Hopefully that is reflected in this chapter. Third and finally, a bit of an info dump. I****'****ve tried to take a few of the game mechanics that we take for granted, like bottomless wallets and just why there are random crates of money scattered everywhere, and given it a more realistic basis; even if it is just glossed over.**

**Right, I think that****'****s all for now. Next time, we get to find out which planet they decide to visit first. Until then, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	4. Chapter 4: Sandsharks & Celebrities

**Author****'****s note:**

**I actually made my deadline with a day to spare! It****'****ll be a week tomorrow since my last update and I****'****ve already got 300 views! All excitement aside, some of the reviews for the last chapter have given me food for thought and a few ideas for future chapters, which I will elaborate on in the review replies below.**

**Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one. This is partially due to there being only so many variations on smiting sandsharks, but mostly down to harsh re-editing to pace the story better. On another note, after re-reading the previous three chapters, I discovered a number of silly mistakes and even missing words in parts. My fault for relying on spell check, auto correct, and not properly going over my own work before posting. Expect to see a few minor tweaks to the other chapters soon if you plan to re-read them.**

**Review replies:**

**Victory Goddess - First of all, let me thank you for your feedback. I based Ratchet****'****s moves off my own experience with the first game. Compared to the sequels, the original****'****s controls when in combat are****…****clunky, and since Ratchet is kind of new to this whole hero business, I tried to reflect this to a degree. He****'****ll definitely get a chance to shine soon though.**

**On that note, you seem to have partly read my mind. I plan for there to be breaks in the story where Ratchet can teach Ellen to fight better, but she might have a few tricks she can teach herself. As for Clank****…**_**Maybe~**_

**I would recommend trying to track down cheap copies of the first two games, or better still buy the HD collection if you can find it. The games might be over a decade old, but they****'****re still as fresh and fun to play as the day they came out. To answer your question, I definitely plan on covering the first three games at least, and possibly Deadlocked / Gladiator. Beyond that, I****'****m not sure. I****'****d probably only write for the main releases and skim over the minor games like Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank.**

**Amberdiamondswords - I****'****m glad you liked it. This story will be a bit of a slow burner in terms of their relationships, but I intend to give them a jump start in the next chapter or so.**

**Pokecats649 - Thank you once again. Your exuberance continues to inspire me.**

**AustinGamer117 - I assume you****'****re referring to Ellen, in which case no. Rest assured, I have not nor do I ever intend to turn her in to a lombax at any point. It****'****s been done to death, and sort of eliminates the entire point of ****'****fish-out-of-water****'**** style stories such as this.**

**evil Ratchet96 - Thanks for reviewing. I****'****ve tried to follow the original plot fairly close to canon, but I will be taking liberties at certain points to enhance the storyline. After all, if I stuck slavishly to the script without adding something of my own, there wouldn****'****t be much point in having an OC along for the ride.**

**destiny - Nice to hear from you again. Just wait until he finds out who his ****'****rival****'**** for Ellen****'****s affection is****…**

**BulletWitch1985 - Sometimes it****'****s good to go back and revisit old games you haven****'****t played for a while, you might even come away with a new perspective. As I said in my response to Victory Goddess, I have every intention to continue with the series up to at least Up Your Arsenal and maybe Deadlocked (Gladiator for PAL release). After that I****'****m not sure, but if I did, I****'****d cover the ****'****R&amp;C Future****'**** story arc while glossing over the PSP games.**

**I****'****d like to take this opportunity to thank TehBdog and evil Ratchet96 for following and favouriting this story, as well as the established followers and favouritiers, (Is that a real word? Well, it is now) you know who you are.**

**As ever, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Phew, longest note ever. If you skipped it, you probably missed out on some hints to future content. But that****'****s okay, it just means less potential spoilers. Anyway, here goes chapter 4.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**Sandsharks and Celebrities**

* * *

**Outpost X11, Aridia**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**2:35am local time**

The first thing Ellen noticed upon stepping foot on the planet's surface was not the shifting sands, nor the large scale construction site in the distance; but rather the temperature. Like the Sahara desert of Earth, the temperature during the night cycle on Aridia plummeted rapidly; the cool night air making Ellen shiver in her still damp clothing as she warily slid out of the cockpit to stand on the planet's surface. After a brief discussion, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank had unanimously agreed to take a detour from their mission to find Qwark in order to search for the missing Skid and his agent on the desert planet. Things had been pretty tense on their approach run, but so far they hadn't seen any sign of the orbital defence missile batteries that had shot down the celebrity hoverboarder, and there had been a distinct lack of any reception committee once they landed much to her suspicion.

Ellen's thoughts churned as her eyes took in the strange spiky cacti-like plant life and the massive half-built structure teeming with worker robots that clawed at the sky. Who attacked Skid? What were they protecting? And why hadn't they engaged their vessel once it made orbit? All these questions would have to wait as Ratchet approached her with a wide smile on his face and a large tubular weapon clutched in both hands; a fuel canister slung underneath the main body and a flickering pilot extending from just below the wide-bored muzzle.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

If it were even possible the lombax's smile seemed to grow even wider as he pointed the weapon skywards and depressed the trigger. A gout of flame spewed forth, lighting up the night and almost singeing Ellen's eyebrows in the process despite being stood several feet away. An awkward moment of silence passed once he had finished his impromptu demonstration before Ellen cautiously broke it. "Ratchet, where did you get that?"

"Isn't it great?" he replied happily. "It's called a pyrocitor. I got it from that vendor over there." Her eyes followed his pointing finger to a large blue-tiled cube nearby with a holographic logo depicting a capital 'G' projected from the top being orbited by the word 'Gadgeton' in a silvery blue font.

...

"You bought a _flamethrower_ from a _vending machine?_"

"Uh, yeah. I needed a replacement for my bomb glove. Why, what's wrong?"

Ellen was aghast. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea that a company manufacturing weapons would distribute them in the same way as soft drinks, and said as such. "Aside from it being banned by law back home, what kind of irresponsible company sells a freaking _flamethrower_ to the public? What if some kid got hold of it?"

"Actually, I believe there are several restrictions and safeguards in place for the distribution of personal defence weapons," Clank interjected.

"Yeah, and there's plenty of warnings and stuff with all their products." Ratchet held the flame spewing weapon up for her to inspect. "See?"

Ellen squinted at a set of barely visible small print stamped on the side of the gun's main body. "'Gadgetron is not liable for burns, scorch marks, property damage, etcetera incurred while using this quality product. Not intended for use by sentients under 18 years old. Incinerate responsibly'?!"

"See?" the lombax responded with a shrug. "Nothing to worry about."

Ellen heavily resembled a gaping fish for several seconds, trying to formulate a response as to how wrong it all was before finally giving up. This wasn't home; things obviously worked very differently here, especially with regard to the legal use of deadly weapons. Realising she was probably asking for a headache if she dwelled too much upon it, Ellen shook off the mental cobwebs and instead focused on the task at hand; trailing slightly behind her two companions as they made their way past the vendor. It wasn't long until they came across a downed escape pod in a narrow canyon, close to a distinctly nervous looking tie-dye shirt wearing alien that was instantly recognisable.

"It's him! Skid McMarx!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"That man from the infobot," Clank added as the celebrity hoverboarder turned to face them while plastering a look of confident nonchalance on his face.

"In the flesh, little dude! You guys get a load of that epic space battle I was in?"

"We saw you all right," Ratchet replied with a hint of amusement. "_Screaming_ for help."

Skid practically squirmed as he tried to back-peddle his way out of the hole he'd dug for himself. "Uh... That was like, a war cry."

"Do you have any idea who attacked you, or why?" Ellen asked while neatly changing the subject. She did genuinely want to know, but she also felt a little sorry for Skid. Had she been in his position during the attack on his ship, she probably would have been scared witless.

"I dunno, little lady. We were on our way to hoverboard practice when my agent and I got ambushed out of, like, nowhere."

"Did he survive the crash, sir?" Clank queried.

"Eh, he's okay," Skid shrugged, apparently none too concerned. "But, I've had a _little_ trouble getting back to my ship..." Following Skid's uneasy gaze, lombax, human, and robot watched as a pair of dull red, stubby-legged, snapping tooth-filled jaws with a shark's fin on their heads ran past. "...due to my _sprained_ ankle."

"Oh come on!" Ratchet scoffed. It wasn't like he hadn't faced worse before on Veldin. Ellen didn't like the look of them any more than Skid did, but at least these things couldn't shoot back.

"If you can take out all the sandsharks, I _just_ might have a spare hoverboard for you."

Ellen could practically see the gears turning in the lombax's head at Skid's blatant bribe, even as Clank tried to dissuade him. "We'd love to help you Mr McMarx, but we need to find Captain-"

"Shhh!" Ratchet interrupted. "One of _your_ boards, eh? Hmmm... I've always wanted a decent hoverboard. Well... alright, you... just keep that foot _elevated._"

Leaving Skid where he was, they crossed into sandshark territory via a makeshift bridge and quickly found themselves under attack from a quartet of the mawed terrors as they burst from the sand just feet away. Before Ellen could even react, Ratchet already had his new toy sweeping in an arc across their front; a slightly maniacal glint in his eyes as he bathed the sandsharks with fire. A little shaken by the suddenness of the engagement, the redhead trailed behind with a palmed bomb at the ready as they halted at a fork in the canyon.

"We should split up, cover more ground that way. I'll take the right, you go left." So saying, the possibly pyromaniacal lombax raced off across a pair of crude bridges over a meandering sludge river, flambéing anything that crossed his path and leaving a trail of chargrilled corpses in his wake. Which smelled of barbeque chicken, for some reason.

Taking a deep breath, Ellen cautiously advanced down the left fork and through a fairly wide gully bordered by spiky plants and rocky outcrops. It didn't take long for her to run into a strange, fleshy green growth surrounded by sandsharks milling around; the human carefully judging the distance before quickly throwing a bomb followed by another two in rapid succession. The first landed at the base of the growth, shredding it and a pair of the red creatures in the same blast while alerting the rest to her presence. Spurned into action, another dozen of the snapping two-legged terrors propelled themselves out of the sand; charging straight into the path of the other two bombs and whittling their numbers further still.

A pair of survivors escaped the blast radius however and pressed their attack; quickly closing the gap and getting far too close for Ellen to use any more bombs without injuring herself. The nearest jumped straight at the human, intent on sinking it's teeth in to her arm, only to fall to a well timed dodge followed by a impromptu knuckle sandwich to the face via bomb glove. The last one meanwhile ducked around it's fallen sibling in time to meet a size seven boot in mid-swing that punted the little red bastard almost to the far wall of the canyon. Once she was sure that none of her opponents were likely to get back up, Ellen continued onwards to the end of the canyon without further incident, where she soon ran into Ratchet at the base of the wide-based pillar of rock that sat in the middle of the area; the smell of cooked meat drifting down from above along with wisps of acrid smoke.

"Hey," she greeted. "Run into any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle." He patted his weapon before gesturing with his head to the canyon exit. "Ready to get going?"

With a nod on the human's part, they both pushed on side by side until they reached the final resting place of the solarship Radical; the vessel half-buried in a jumbled pile of rocks and cacti but otherwise appearing to be virtually intact in spite of the crash landing. Before they could investigate any further however, what looked like the entire remaining population of sandsharks in the area erupted from the ground and swarmed towards them en-masse. Between Ratchet's pyrocitor and Ellen's bombs the horde quickly succumbed to their duel assault, leaving the three companions alone in the still night air with only the sounds of cargo transports passing overhead for company.

Skid showed up shortly after the area was finally sandshark free, and conspicuously lacking any gait from his 'sprained ankle'. Reaching the downed vessel, he typed his personal code into a keypad on the ship's side, causing the cargo access doors to swing open. After a brief rummage, a muffled cry of triumph signalled that Skid had apparently found what he was looking for as he held up a silver metal board with canard stabilizers and a pair of small thrusters on the back. "Here man, catch!"

He tossed it into Ratchet's waiting arms, the lombax's eyes lighting up at the sight of the gleaming hoverboard. Apparently, Christmas had come early. "A brand new Z-3000! You can't even _buy_ these!"

"Well, I gotta bail. Catch you dudes at the hoverboard races." So saying, Skid, left through the other side of the cargo bay; though Ellen couldn't help but feel a little lost.

_'Hoverboard racing?' _

Mentally adding it to the list of things to look up later, Ellen joined the boys as they followed Skid's route through the crashed ship. Finding themselves on top of a cliff face with a sheer drop into the murky brown sludge below, the trio made use of a nearby cherry picker to bring them down safely to dry land. With Skid's agent still missing, they set off to investigate the distant construction site and search for any sign of his presence.

Jumping over a congealed pool of the brown sludge, they ran in to a few sandsharks that quickly fell to Ratchet's wrench and a well placed bomb. Ellen had no idea what the brown stuff was, but it seemed to have the same properties as quicksand if the half-sunken construction equipment nearby was anything to go by. As they passed a few incomplete girders, a thick set yellow-painted robot with a blow torch for an arm and an oversized red fuel tank on his back turned to block their path. Cranking up the fuel pressure, the robot turned his welding tool into a crude flamethrower that swept the area in a horizontal arc; preventing the intruders from advancing any further.

Without breaking stride, Ratchet quickly feinted to one side before flipping over the wall of fire. With a deft flick of the wrist he released his wrench at the apex of his jump; impacting the machine's face and staggering it long enough for one of Ellen's bombs to detonate the fuel tank. The blast was almost enough to bowl the human over, though Ratchet managed to tuck into a roll to avoid the worst of the impact upon hitting solid ground again.

"Next time... we do that from a _lot_ further away."

Ratchet managed a chuckle at the breathless redhead's words as he climbed back to his feet. "Yeah, I think you _nearly_ singed my tail that time."

Ellen faux scowled at the now smirking lombax. "You saying I couldn't hit you, fuzz ball?"

"Ain't managed it yet." With a taunting flick of his tail Ratchet was off again, leaving her to wonder if her new friend had a death wish.

_'Friends... Are we really friends?'_

Ellen had known Ratchet for what constituted to less than a day, yet she felt strangely comfortable with both him and Clank. She hadn't spoken much to the adorably small and politely spoken robot; knowing next to nothing about him other than the fact that he seemed well learned, if a little naive at times. Definitely something she resolved to fix at the earliest opportunity. Ratchet however was another game altogether; the redhead having grown to trust the furry feline in spite of the fact they had started off on the wrong foot, and not just because he'd probably saved her life.

Ratchet was brash, smart mouthed, and more than a little cocky; but his heart was in the right place when it came to doing the right thing, and he was easily a damn sight better behaved than most of the boys she had gone to school with. Ellen honestly didn't know anyone else who would go that far out of their way to help a complete stranger in their time of need, and right now he was also her best bet of surviving whatever trials lay ahead. She would definitely need to make up for snapping at him on Novalis, and maybe get him to show her how to better defend herself since danger seemed to revolve around their little group.

Another construction robot stood with it's back towards them, working on a drainage outlet while a bunch of sandsharks milled around it. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ratchet threw his wrench like a boomerang; tearing a rent in the robot's fuel tank and leaving it open to a pre-prepared bomb from Ellen. The explosive orb combined with the exposed liquid fuel source incinerated everything within a twelve foot radius of the initial blast; washing over the already parched ground and clearing the way ahead. As they approached the unfinished structure, Ellen began to appreciate just how big it was; ten storeys of shining steel and light, almost blocking out the horizon. It was becoming increasingly obvious that whoever shot down the Radical didn't want anyone to find this facility, and judging by the similarities between these worker robots and the combat models they had encountered on Novalis, Drek had to be involved somehow.

The entrance to the site proper was guarded by a quartet of alerted construction bots which were dealt with in a similarly violent fashion; Ratchet acting as bait as he flambéed any stray sandsharks while Ellen exploited the machines weak spots. Unfortunately these particular robots seemed to catch on quickly and spread out to minimise the effect of Ellen's bomb runs, making the human's task that much harder. After backflipping and pirouetting through the air with an ease that would make a trapeze artist jealous, Ratchet managed to isolate one robot and get in close where he could do some damage. Ducking under a clumsy swing, he unleashed a flurry of strikes with his wrench before finishing with an uppercut that knocked the machine's block off. With the last construction bot falling to a lucky bomb strike, the mismatched trio stepped onto the nearby service elevator that would take them inside the structure itself.

Reaching the top, it was clear that the facility was no where nearing completion; the route directly in front being inaccessible due to the missing floor section and nigh two storey drop. Hanging a right, they took out several construction bots while traversing narrow scaffolding and industrial grade conveyor belts; being ambushed from above by even more machines all the way. Moving up a floor almost to the apex, they took another service lift down to the basement level of the complex. The foundations were a myriad of sand, sludge, sandsharks, and killer robots scattered around a massive industrial reactor that would eventually power the facility. For now though, it was just a convenient way to ascend to the very top of the structure once it had been scaled.

Carving a path through the myriad of foes opposing them, Ratchet boosted Ellen up onto one of the reactor's maintenance platforms before hauling himself up. Repeating the process, they made it to the top of the reactor only to find a stack of large, riveted metal pipes arranged in a triangle and occupied by - what else? - more sandsharks. Taking a pipe each, Ratchet elected to hose his side with fire while Ellen tossed a bomb down her pipe before ducking back to avoid the resulting explosion. Peeking around the edge, she jerked back suddenly as a singed and very angry sandshark snapped it's jaws inches from her face; the redhead's quick reaction combined with the sandshark's momentum resulting in the red-mawed beast flying off the edge of the gantry and falling to the depths below while Ellen's heart leapt into her mouth.

Following the gantry round the room once the way was clear, they soon came to an unfinished section that required the lombax and human to shimmy along while dangling from a ledge until they could pull themselves up to the next level. From there it was only a sort ladder climb until they were stood on the very top of this area of the structure. There had been no further clues as to the facility's purpose, but seeing as it was probably months from being finished Ellen supposed that it didn't really matter in the short run. With luck, Drek would be stopped long before the place was up and running.

Finally getting out of the towering structure and back on to more natural land, the sound of frustrated ranting drew them to the base of a large cannon that occasionally spat missiles at targets beyond the heavens. It was in the shadow of the orbital defence weapon where they found another escape pod, and a familiar figure wearing a trench in the floor with his constant pacing while desperately trying to make contact on his phone. "Aargh, no signal whatsoever! This down time is killing me!"

"Do you need medical attention, sir?" Clank politely enquired. Apparently machines and metaphors didn't mix.

"Don't be so literal, son! The problem is I'm stranded on this backwater planet and my star client is nowhere to be found."

"Hey..." Ratchet drew out. "We saw you on that infobot! You're Skid's agent!"

"_Was_ Skid's agent," he corrected. "Haven't seen him since our ship crashed, and an agent without a client is like a flea without a dog!" Ellen frowned at the grossly appropriate analogy; she _really_ didn't trust guys like these. "Say, you look like a couple of athletic kids. If you can bring back the championship prize from the hoverboard races in Blackwater City, I'll make _you two_ my next stars! What do you say?"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ellen replied. _'Especially since he admitted he's a damn leech'_

Clank, in spite of his earlier naiveté, seemed to be on the same wavelength "We have no time for trivial matters, sir."

"Hmmm... I could be the next Skid McMarx!"

_'...And Ratchet has stars in his eyes. Wonderful.'_

Dragging an excited lombax in their wake, the trio used what can best be described as a very claustrophobic subterranean transport terminal to travel under the brown sludge; arriving at a similar station on the other side near to their original landing zone. Why Skid's agent never used it is anyone's guess; probably too busy trying to get a signal on his phone. Before leaving the area and heading back to the ship however, Ellen had a thought; or rather her stomach did.

"Ratchet?"

"yeah?"

"Before we go, can we grab one of those sandsharks? I'm starving."

...

"I'm sorry, I could have sworn you said you wanted to... _eat_... a sandshark?"

Ellen honestly didn't see a problem. Because of her brother's military experience and survival training, she was used to living off the land during their occasional camping trips together. Catching, killing, and skinning rabbits and other local fauna to cook and eat was second nature to her. As far as she was concerned this was no different; and with no local currency to her name she wasn't about to pass up on a free meal. Ratchet on the other hand wrinkled his nose in revulsion. Despite coming from a backwater planet, he preferred his meals to be already dead, packaged and stamped with a sell by date, thank you very much.

"Yeah, the ones you toasted earlier smelt so good," the human continued with a far away look. "All we have to do is cook one with your flamethrower and-"

"If I may," Clank interceded. "I believe sandsharks are supposed to be poisonous."

Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, and sensing an opportunity to get to know her better without being shot at, Ratchet proposed an idea. "Tell you what. When we get to Kerwan, I'll buy us lunch; my treat. What do you say?"

Ellen smiled, even as her stomach gargled in anticipation. "Sounds great. I'm so hungry right now, I could eat a horse."

Letting her take the lead on the walk back to their ship, Ratchet pondered her last words before hesitantly questioning the little robot on his back.

"Clank?"

"Yes, Ratchet?"

"What's a horse?"

...

"I have no idea."

* * *

**I blame the fact that I had a random craving for chicken combined with a lack of sleep for the last part. Still, it sets things up neatly (kind of) for their visit to Metropolis, which might be a two part piece or an extended chapter if I expand upon what will technically be Ratchet and Ellen****'****s first date of sorts. On another note, I****'****ve tried to slightly parody the game****'****s lax approach to gun control laws. Even in space, weapon sales have to be regulated somehow.**

**Next time: food, firepower, and budding hints of romance**.

**Until then, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	5. Chapter 5: Three's a Crowd

**Author****'****s note:**

**Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. 600 views?! I can****'****t believe how many people have read and actually like this story, I****'****m positively beside myself with joy! After much consideration, I decided to split this chapter in half due to it starting to grow far to large in order to release in time. Seriously, once I started typing the story just seemed to flow. **

**This chapter turned out to be the biggest yet. It could be considered filler, but I feel it****'****s important to take a break from the action in order to get the main characters to bond a little, as well as address some of the issues raised in previous and more recent reviews.**

**I****'****m also thinking about getting a cover for this story, but can****'****t draw to save my life. If anyone would like to assist, please read the author****'****s note at the end of the chapter.**

**Review replies:**

**Amberdiamondswords - That was actually a last minute quip, believe it or not. Glad you found it funny.**

**Guest - I didn****'****t really think about the hover boarding until you mentioned it. Your review got me to thinking about inserting a few BTTF references, including a certain scene from the third movie that may or may not make it in to the next chapter depending on whether or not it affects pacing. As for your next question, well that****'****s actually being covered in this chapter among other things. I hope you enjoy the HD collection, it****'****s actually what inspired me to start writing this story in the first place.**

**Pokecats649 - Aw, you****'****re making me blush.**

**ReginaDC21 - I would have to agree, it****'****s always a fine line between making a character too powerful or irrelevant to the story. Don****'****t get me wrong, powerful almost God-like (or should that be Sue-like) characters **_**can**_** be interesting when they are written well and used in the right context, but the instances are far and few between.**

**I think there might be a little confusion there, which is probably my fault for not making it clear enough at the beginning of the story; Simon is Ellen****'****s recently deceased **_**brother**_**, whom she misses very much. Since Ratchet only has scraps of information to go on, he thinks Simon is her boyfriend. Their relationship so far revolves around Ratchet tying to win a so far oblivious Ellen from a non existent rival, something that will come to a head in the future.**

**I hadn****'****t planned on their being any other love interests to sway Ellen in this story, but there****'****s no saying there couldn****'****t be in the sequels. As far s I****'****m aware, there are absolutely no humans in the R &amp; C series what so ever. The nearest equivalent would be either markazians - like Talwyn - Qwark, or Ace Hardlight to a lesser degree. Hope that helps.**

**dsetiny - Thank you. I try to give a bit of background detail to give a sense of immersion to each chapter, not only to better set the story, but also for the benefit of anyone who sadly hasn****'****t played the first game for what ever reason. As for Ratchet and Ellen****'****s first ****'****date****'****, it****'****s here right now in this chapter, though you can bet it****'****ll be a little****…****unconventional.**

**anonymous - I****'****m happy you****'****re happy. If there****'****s one thing that bugs me, it****'****s when someone posts a chapter then doesn****'****t update for months or even years at a time without letting their readers know what****'****s going on, (Though I suppose that makes me a hypocrite considering my track record with Trouble Shooter) which is why I try to update as fast and as regularly as possible.**

**Many thanks to KateAlexandraH and kboyer36 for following this story, as well as MyFriendHasOCD, who also favourited along with Shiny Rayquaza, MysteryWolf, and Phoenix NightStar; joining those who already follow and favourite this story, and by definition prod me in to continuing this story. Thank you all **

**Unsurprisingly, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**I can****'****t help but think I****'****m missing something on this chapter, but I don****'****t know what****…**** Anyway, here****'****s chapter 5.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 5: **

**Three****'****s a Crowd**

* * *

**Metropolis, Kerwan**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**8:32am local time**

"So, this Gadgetron is like a supranational corporate entity who make and own pretty much everything?" Ellen managed to vocalise between bites on a half melted Nano bar (now with 12% more flavouring!) she'd found discarded in a storage compartment on the ship's passenger side to stave off her hunger.

"That is not entirely inaccurate," Clank replied. "Gadgetron is the single largest extrasolar entity in the entire galaxy, with interests in almost all aspects of commercial and domestic goods."

After the incident with the flamethrower back on Aridia, and arranging a rescue ship for Skid and his agent, Ellen had wanted to know more about Gadgetron and their quasi-amoral practices. Unsurprisingly, it was Clank who turned out to be the most knowledgeable among the three, and the conversation had been both educational and enlightening for her understanding of how things worked in this galaxy. As it turned out, Gadgetron really did have their fingers in way too many pies than Ellen was comfortable with. From baby milk to bunker busting smart bombs, almost 80% of the galactic market was dominated by the consumer giant.

_'A bit like Microsoft, Google, and Apple all rolled in to one, then.'_

As for the weapons vendors, they were a product of politics. Apparently, due to the expense, the Solana galaxy had no formal overarching military force. Instead, all citizens had a right to bear arms; with individual citizens and planetary militias expected to defend their own worlds against outside threats, or otherwise rely upon mercenaries and roving heroes such as Captain Qwark. With no military organisation to gain defence contracts from, Gadgetron had done the next best thing; make military grade hardware available to anyone for the right price, hence the flamethrower and lord knows what else being stocked in branded vending machines on street corners and isolated locales across the galaxy.

With such a skewed and disorganised system in place, it was small wonder Drek had managed to get away with his scheme as he had so far. With a seemingly endless army of robots at his command and no organised resistance, Drek could pursue his goals with impunity. Unless they could somehow enlist Qwark's aid, the only thing that could hope to stop the diabolical despot was just the three of them. The thought was sobering, but only made Ellen more determined to see things through to the end.

"We're coming up on Kerwan. Everyone strapped in?"

Stuffing the rest of the bar into her mouth, Ellen checked her harness before giving a muffled confirmation to Ratchet, her hands locked around Clank's midsection as he sat perched on her lap. For now at least she was going to put off the philosophising and simply enjoy herself for a while. As they entered the atmosphere, a dense bank of thick cloud cover briefly enveloped them before revealing a crystal blue sky and the sprawling cityscape of Metropolis below.

"Whoa..."

The brief glimpse from the infobot didn't even do it a hint of justice. For as far as the eye could see, a rich tapestry of polished brass, shining steel, and sparkling glass interspersed with luscious greenery covered the planet's surface. Stretching like the fingers of giants to the very heavens above, these towering structures were the true definition of the word 'skyscraper'. As they flew lower over the city, Ellen could greater appreciate the magnificent architecture in greater detail. Each of the tightly packed buildings was unique, with no two having quite the same shape or decor, but they all seemed to ascribe to the same blend of art deco style mixed with a 1960's 'world of tomorrow' look.

Hanging tastefully from ledges and decorating the boulevards and walkways that criss-crossed the suspended city was a surprising amount of plants, flowers and greenery for the high altitude. Weaving through the mid-morning traffic made up of air cars that looked like they belonged in the Jetsons, Ellen briefly wondered what would happen if one experienced any engine trouble. The city was so high above the planet that the surface couldn't be seen beyond a thick fog that blanketed everything six miles below what passed for street level. Put bluntly, it was a very long way down with little chance of survival should someone fall; probably the reason for all the safety railings she could see on the pedestrian routes they passed.

Getting close to the city centre, Ratchet brought the courier ship in to land on a railed observation deck extending from a building in the middle of the commercial district. Upon dismounting, the trio took a moment to appreciate the scenery before turning to stroll through a large decorative archway lined with leafy palms; making their way down a paved bridge to a raised circular platform with branching walkways, an attendant Gadgetron vendor, and an unrivalled view of what Clank pointed out to be a main transit hub in the distance. Ellen's eyes didn't know where to rove next as she drank in the sight of aliens going about their daily lives. It was so surreal, yet strangely comforting to see so many people of different species interacting with each other just like any normal urban population on Earth; couples out walking, friends out shopping, neighbours gossiping and talking about the weather.

So lost was she in her observation, that she didn't notice Ratchet until he gently shook her on the shoulder. "Hey Ellen, you alright? You kinda spaced for a minute there."

She shook her head before turning to face him with the ghost of a smile on her lips. "I'm fine, this is all just so... _wow!_ I've never seen a city look so _beautiful,_ or _clean,_ let alone one up in the clouds! And all the _people..._"

Ratchet chuckled as he interrupted her gushing. "Never been off world before I take it?" He added her confirmation to the mental list of growing questions he had about the girl before replying. "Me neither before today. Listen, I called a cab to take us to a little cazar run place a few blocks away."

"Hang on. If you've never been here before, how did you know it was there?"

He waved his wrist mounted device in the air. "Easy, I looked it up online."

"Oh." Ellen felt like facepalming. Of course he did; that little device on his arm was basically like a smart phone, so it was a given that it would have access to this galaxy's version of the internet.

"So anyway, I figured we ought to do a little shopping in the meantime while we wait. Maybe get you some better gear."

"But I don't have any money."

"Don't worry about it, I'm paying. No buts," he interrupted as she opened her mouth to protest. "You can't just rely on that Bomb Glove forever. Do you even know how much ammo you've got left?"

She honestly didn't, but it probably wasn't much considering how many bombs she'd been tossing around. As much as she loathed the idea of relying on charity, she knew Ratchet had a point; things were only going to get harder from here on out, and she'd need all the help she could get. Plus she really wanted to get her hands on one of those wrist thingies that Ratchet had, if only so she could look things up herself rather than pick Clank's considerable brains. Or should that be processor since he was a robot? Following the lombax's gesture to the blue metallic cube before them, Ellen strolled over to stand by him as it split open and shifted to form a trio of viewing screens; two to either side of the main projector and one below.

The right most screen burst with static briefly before resolving itself into the bored looking image of a green salamander-like alien wearing a red short-sleeved armoured vest, his red-hued eyes blinking disinterestedly as he waved a hand in greeting. "Hey there, fuzz ball." Upon catching sight of Ellen through the camera mounted on the top of the vendor however his posture soon straightened; lips stretching into an appreciative grin as his attention focused on the attractive looking potential customer. "And _hellooo_ lady! What can I do you for today?"

Ratchet's face twitched briefly as he unconsciously stepped closer to the redhead in a protective manner. Not sure if she should be flattered or annoyed by the lombax's behaviour, Ellen decided to press on. "I'd like to see what you've got for sale. Do you have anything a bit longer ranged than this."

Holding up her recently equipped Bomb Glove for the camera while half clenching the fingers, it didn't take long for the salesman to enthusiastically respond. "You betcha! Just got a new shipment of Blasters in; fully automatic, contoured grip, and of course, Quick Select compatible. All for only 5000 bolts. Do you have an account with us?"

Apparently, you needed to have an account registered with Gadgetron before you could purchase anything more deadly than a toothpick. The process of signing up was mercifully quick, although a little intrusive for Ellen's liking. Did they _really_ need to know her grandmother's maiden name? What could they _possibly_ want with that kind of information? Once the legalities were out of the way however, the vendor turned out to be pretty easy to use. Aside form the salesman giving colour commentary on his stock, the bottom panel contained a touch screen catalogue of currently stocked items, with the relevant information displayed on the left screen while the projector displayed a four-dimensional image of the currently selected item.

Ellen honestly had a hard time not playing about with the alien tech as she skimmed through the some what limited items in stock; but after a little browsing and comparing prices she ended up buying a Blaster, despite Ratchet's mutterings about it being overpriced, along with a Quick Select module to store it in and a free Bomb Glove to replace the one Ratchet loaned her. What really caught the human's attention however was something she almost missed while checking the melee weapons available. The encounter with the sandsharks she'd had on Aridia made Ellen realise that she'd need something for when enemies got too close that didn't involve punching it with a Bomb Glove, and the item near the bottom of the list appeared to be her answer.

"What's that?"

The shopkeeper blinked awake from whatever daze he was in as he turned to flip through his own terminal off screen. "Huh? Didn't even know that was still here. It's an old Versa Blade, used to be real popular until the Omni-Wrench series made 'em obsolete. You interested?"

Yes she was. Seven inches of charcoal grey, diamond-coated, stainless steel blade with a double serrated back edge; the five inch rust-coloured rubberised handle sporting a specially designed guard with an inset thumbable button. Aside from the futuristic materials used in its construction and the additional feature, It was almost an exact replica of a United Cutlery UC2831 tanto-combat knife. According to the specifications, the Versa Blade used high frequency seismic vibrations to penetrate armour by tearing it apart at the molecular level - probably what the button was supposed to be for - and the butt of the handle could also be magnetised in order to operate bolt cranks and other machinery that would normally require an Omni-Wrench. All in all, it was the perfect tool for her purposes.

"How much?"

By the time the shopkeeper had rung up her purchases, and Ratchet was several thousand bolts lighter, their taxi had arrived. Ellen still felt a little guilty about spending his money, but the lombax waved it off; after all, most of it wasn't his to start with.

Attaching the Quick Select to her belt, Ellen began to store her weapons with Ratchet's assistance. The device was a bit of a strange novelty for her since it consisted of two separate parts; the storage module for the items and a contact lens that displayed an augmented reality map of the modules contents, in addition to displaying the relevant information on ammunition and assisted targeting for weapons. In order to select an item, the user would first keep a hand close to the module; which would bring up the AR display in the user's vision. Using minute eye movements to 'look' at the item they wanted, the selected weapon or gadget would then materialise in the user's hand for immediate use. It seemed weird and awkward to Ellen, but with practice she could see the advantage of such a system. The only real disadvantage was the limited storage space and that fact it only worked with Gadgetron approved products.

The ride on the automated air cab was almost as breathtaking as seeing the city from high orbit, with the added advantage of having an unrestricted 360 degree view. As they flew past the transit hub the taxi came around on a lazy descending arc across a tiled plaza, passing near to an artificial lake maintained by a pair of cycling water generators on either end of the improbable construct.

So absorbed was Ellen in trying to mentally dissect the inner workings of such a colossal undertaking that she didn't notice they had already arrived at their destination until she felt Ratchet take her by the arm and gently guide her out of the still hovering vehicle.

After paying the fare, a short walk along what Ellen was starting to think of as the Riviera district bought them to the restaurant Ratchet mentioned. It was a family run open air establishment with a pair of waiters serving left and right, and several tables under the shade of leafy palms outside on the plaza overlooking the river. Taking their seats, Ellen took one look at the incomprehensible cazaran script on the menu before deciding to let Ratchet order on her behalf. They ended up with two daily specials featuring something called 'psytopus' for Ratchet and Ellen with a glass of naxa juice each, while Clank decided on a bowl of mixed washers and grommets. While they waited for their food to arrive, Ratchet decided to strike up conversation.

"So Ellen, you said earlier that you've never been off world before. But if that's the case, what were you doing on that ship before it crashed?"

His tone wasn't accusatory, but rather curious, and Ellen realised now was as good a time as any to come clean about her situation. Perhaps these two could even help her find a way home when this mess was over. "Ratchet, I wasn't on that ship. As far as I know, I've _never_ been on any space going ship before I met you."

"I believe that was the vessel that bought me to Veldin," Clank chipped in. "However, Ellen was most certainly not aboard at the time."

"But I found you in the impact crater!" Ratchet exclaimed. "If you weren't on the ship, then how did you get there?"

She rubbed her eyes before looking at him tiredly. "I honestly don't know. The last thing I remember was nearly getting flattened by a meteorite. There was this weird humming noise and then just a surge of pain, felt like it was going to tear me apart. When I woke up, I was on Veldin; half naked and _very_ confused."

Ratchet had the good grace to cough awkwardly at the look she shot him, while Clank asked the question that was on the mind of both himself and his lombax friend. "It would seem that you were transported involuntarily by a force of great magnitude. The question is, where were you transported from?"

And so Ellen told them of Earth, and her home country of Scotland. They seemed quite surprised to learn that her home planet was in an entirely different galaxy altogether, and especially at how her people had barely managed to leave their own planet to explore their closest neighbour. Of course with that came the inevitable question of species and she had to explain humanity in brief, along with a very abridged history. She had been annoyed when Ratchet admitted that he had thought her to be a deformed markazian at first, but relented when he'd shown her a picture of one on his Wrist Com, as she learned his arm mounted device to be called. She had to admit, the resemblance _was_ striking. Other than the pointed ears and tail, the woman in the picture could pass for human anywhere on Earth. On the flipside, Ellen learned that Ratchet was a lombax and not a 'space moggy' as her subconscious had previously insisted; something even Clank found amusing.

Once their food arrived, everyone dug in with gusto. Ellen couldn't say she was the biggest fan of sea food, but the psytopus meat was surprisingly tender, if a little rubbery for what looked like chunks of squid. The naxa juice on the other hand was an eclectic mix of pineapple and blueberries, with a hint of something spicy that tasted wonderful. Either way, she was thoroughly enjoying her first taste of alien cuisine in the company of friends. As the meal went on, the trio exchanged small talk and learned a little more about each other. Ellen was surprised to learn that Clank was actually less than a day old since he was knowledgeable about so much, though considering his naivety when it came to non-academic matters it made sense. Ratchet on the other hand shared her interest of the stars and exploration of space, although he had her outstripped when it came to technical knowledge due to him being a _rocket mechanic_ of all things.

Once everyone had finished and the meal was paid for, Clank decided to find a public Holo-net terminal in order to glean any information on the blarg and find out the location of Al's Robo Shack; thus excusing himself for the time being. Finally having Ellen all to himself, Ratchet suggested they take a stroll along the Riviera while they waited, to which she happily agreed. The waterfront was lined with businesses, curio shops, and a pawn broker run by an elderly novalian man who could out squint Clint Eastwood. As it turned out, Ellen's analogue watch was worth quite a bit to the right collector due to it's 'antique technology'; the human happily selling it in exchange for an older model of Wrist Com and a few hundred bolts, which were promptly transferred to the device once it had been set up and re-registered in her name.

Continuing their walk, they soon found themselves leaving the riverside and inside a fenced in public park occupied by families and pet owners enjoying what was shaping up to be a beautifully sunny day. In his mind Ratchet could picture them walking hand in hand just as other couples do; exchanging light hearted banter and knowing looks while simply basking in each others company. Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case since he'd yet to pluck up the courage to ask her out, and then there was this Simon character that Ellen had mentioned. If he wanted to be with her, the lombax needed to subtly find out about his rival for her affections, and find a way to best him.

"Ratchet?"

"Hm?" Ratchet broke from his reverie to focus on the girl that occupied his thoughts.

"I know you've done so much for me already, but I was wondering... Could you help teach me to fight like you do?"

"You want _me_ to teach you how to fight?"

"Before today, the worst fight I've ever been in was a scrap with some stupid little tart whose tits were bigger than her brain. Ever since I met you, I've almost been shot, burned, and maimed more times than I'd hope for one lifetime; and I get the feeling that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get any better."

Ratchet felt a twinge of guilt seeing as he was the one to put her in those situations, accidentally or not. She was probably right though about their journey getting harder from here on out, and so the lombax resolved to aid her the best he could. He'd never forgive himself if he lost her, especially if he could have done something to prevent it from happening. "Sure, why not. Can't have my partner lagging behind now, can we?"

Ratchet grinned as she rose to the bait, scowling at him and muttering several colourful curses under her breath as they traipsed to a more secluded section of the park. Finally finding a space clear of people and any potential obstacles, Ratchet had Ellen draw her newly acquired Blaster and practice firing to get a feel for the weapon. "Don't you think we'll get in trouble for firing a _gun_ in a public park?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "Gadgetron never sell their weapons with live ammo, you usually have to buy it separate. I'm betting that thing's either empty or full of blanks. Besides, no one'll hear it out here anyway."

"If you say so..." Being used to the Hollywood interpretation of firearms, Ellen was unprepared for the relatively subdued report from the muzzle; or the recoil causing her to stagger back in to the quickly reacting lombax's arms.

"You alright?"

"yeah... I kind of wasn't expecting that," she admitted.

"I take it you've never fired a gun before?"

"How could you tell?"

"Well other than nearly falling on your can, your stance is all wrong." She snorted at that, but he ploughed on regardless. "I could probably fire it one handed, but for you, let's try something a little different." So saying, he moulded his body to Ellen's as he gently pushed her legs further apart with his own; one sliding forward while she shifted more weight on to the other. "Your centre of gravity's way too high when you shoot. If you widen your stance, it'll make you more stable and better able to react to any threats."

Ellen's heart rate quickened at the contact but otherwise remained complacent. She trusted Ratchet, and even though this felt a little... _intimate,_ she knew that he was trying to help her rather than trying something _else._ Ratchet on the other hand was busy trying to contain himself with her body pressed up against his. He'd never been this close to a girl ever; her heart beating a tempo through her back that almost matched his own as he reached forward to reposition her arms while trying to make sure he didn't do anything stupid to jeopardise the trust she'd placed in him.

"Try bending your shooting arm a little instead of holding it straight. _That's_ it. Now, use your other hand to support underneath the butt." He was pressed firmly against her back now, his arms encompassing her own as she felt his soft fur warm her. She was glad he couldn't see the light flush that decorated her cheeks as he peeked around her shoulder. "Alright, let's give it a try."

His fingers clasped atop her own, and she idly wondered what they felt like underneath the gloves just as they stroked the trigger together. Though the weapon still bucked up with the shot, it was nowhere near as bad as before; and best of all, she was still standing. "There, you see? better already."

She could let the hint of smugness in his voice slide as they repeated the action several times before the lombax released his hold and let her continue on her own. The human found herself a little confused as he withdrew however, for while part of hers was relieved to get some breathing space away from the golden furred feline another missed the close contact; the air somehow feeling a little colder without his presence. As she expended the training ammo, Ellen quickly fell into a rhythm. Alternating between controlled bursts and single shots, she found herself to be consistently accurate at ranges under thirty metres; though not much beyond that point.

All too soon the weapon ran dry, and Ratchet suggested moving on to her new Versa Blade. Now _this_ was something she had a little experience in, thanks to a phase a few years back when she accidentally caught parts of an episode of Naruto on YouTube. For days afterwards she'd borrow cutlery from the kitchen and spend hours being a 'badass ninja' in the back garden. Simon caught her acting like a complete prat when he was home one day on leave and, after he'd managed to stop laughing, offered to teach his sister a little blade craft; if only so she didn't injure herself accidentally when swinging them around. As a result of that session and several others over time, she was fairly versed in using a knife in close quarters battle; and it was for that reason that she held herself with some confidence when the lombax suggested a sparring session with their weapons of choice.

"Alright, lets see what you've got."

Ratchet paused for a second as the girl dropped into a combat stance with her knife held in a reverse grip at the ready, her free hand hovering in front with an open palm held parallel. He grinned as he held his wrench at his side, fingers tightening their grip. This might be interesting after all. For several heartbeats neither moved, then at some unseen signal they dashed head on at each other. Ratchet swept his wrench in a horizontal arc that forced the human to duck and roll aside in order to avoid a follow up attack. Feinting to the right, she sprung left; her blade coming up in a diagonal slash before reversing direction into what would have been the jugular had it connected.

Backflipping away to gain some distance, Ratchet was forced to quickly re-evaluate his opponent as she continued to press the offensive. Letting her get close, he winged her with his wrench as he jumped over her head and set himself up for a ranged attack. Since it was only a spar, Ratchet's hit had been fairly light; leaving Ellen slightly bruised and winded. If it had been an actual fight, it would have easily crushed her ribcage; a sobering thought as she spun low to face the lombax, only to have her legs taken out from beneath her by a flying wrench. Seeing her go down with a cry, Ratchet's heart leapt in to his throat as he ran forward to help.

_'Oh crap! What did I do?! If she's hurt...'_

Reaching her side, he stooped down to support her as his mind ran a mile a minute. "Ellen! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

He was cut off as she suddenly leapt up, grabbing his shoulder and forcing the surprised lombax onto his back. Straddling him, she pinned his arms with her knees as she held the blade inches from his face. "I win."

She laughed at the flabbergasted look on his face, though she might not had she been privy to his thoughts. _'Is it wrong to think that she looks kinda hot like this?'_

"You cheated!"

She shrugged with a parody of the lombax's smug smile. "All's fair in love and war."

"That so?"

She yelped as he used his superior upper body strength to push her off to one side before rolling to pin her in turn. For the next quarter of an hour they grappled and mock wrestled as they tried to assert their 'dominance' over one another, laughing all the while. And so it was shortly there after that a heavily panting human and an equally strained lombax lay side by side on the soft grass, looking up at the cloudless sky while trying to catch their breath.

"You know, you're pretty good for a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean? And where did you learn to fight like that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Here and there. Veldin can be a dangerous place to grow up, y'know. What about you?"

She smiled sadly. "Someone who meant a lot to me."

Ratchet could read between the lines and decided not to push any further, though that didn't mean he couldn't change the subject. With an impish smile on his face, he raised a questioning brow towards the flushed human. "Wanna go for round two?"

Her peal of laughter was like music to his ears as she turned on her side to face him, inadvertently bringing them closer together. "I don't think I'm going to be able to move for a week. I'm shattered!"

He chuckled as he turned his head to meet her gaze. "Well, wouldn't want to wear you out just yet. We still gotta find Qwark and stop Drek."

For a long moment nothing was said between them as his expressive emerald eyes locked with the cool blue depths of her own. Sometimes words were unnecessary compared to the closeness and companionship of someone special; one willing to listen without judgement and be there when needed most. They simply lay like that for an indeterminate time before the spell was broken by the inevitable exchange of words in their little slice of seclusion.

"Ratchet, about what I said earlier... you'll help me find a way home, right? You and Clank I mean."

The lombax felt torn.

He liked this girl like no other before; wanting to be with her so badly, and yet... Ratchet sighed, unable to deny the hopeful expression on her face. No matter how much he might love her, she had something to go back to once this was over, unlike himself. Even if they did form a deeper relationship, he couldn't force her to choose between him and her old life; but that didn't mean he wouldn't make the most of what time they had together. Who knows, maybe there was a way things could work out for both of them? Ratchet took the human's hand as he firmly held her gaze; his voiced answer full of conviction.

"I will. I promise."

Ellen softly squeezed his hand, a gentle smile on her lips as she laid her head to rest on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Her eyes closed and his heart fluttered in his chest at the redhead's words. He didn't know how long he had with her, but he was determined to make the most of it while he still could. From what little Ellen had told him and Clank about her life earlier on, Ratchet guessed that she had recently had trouble prior to ending up in his care. The evasiveness and tell tale signs were clearly visible, but he'd decided not to pry for now. The girl certainly deserved a little happiness in her life considering her situation, and he was determined to provide it. Flickering his eyes to her once again, the lombax found that Ellen had drifted off to sleep; her chest rising and falling gently as she snuggled unconsciously into his fur and fingers still entwined with his own. Not having the heart to wake her, Ratchet decided to let her rest and allowed his own eyes to close as the fatigue from the day's events caught up; a faint smile touching his lips before sleep finally claimed him.

He could get used to this.

* * *

**And there we are, fluffiness and little character building. The next chapter will be getting the story back on track in Metropolis, with perhaps a few small twists to compensate for Ellen****'****s presence.**

**If anyone****'****s interested in drawing a cover for this story, please E-mail any submissions as an attachment to the address that can be found on my profile page. All submissions will be fairly judged based upon how appropriate it is for the story, and the chosen cover will be fully credited on all present and future chapters.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	6. Chapter 6: False Leads & Flying Trains

**Author****'****s note:**

**I****'****m not sure how it happened, but not only did I manage to write the longest chapter for this story yet, but I also finished it even quicker than the last chapter. How? No idea. Either way, this is the second, even more extended part of the Metropolis arc of the story.**

**I****'****d still like to get a cover for this story. If anyone****'****s interested in helping, drop me a line.**

**Review replies:**

**Guest (Who somehow was missed off the last review replies. Bad timing?) - Erm, thank you. I assume you****'****re talking about the vendor?**

**Guest (Who did review for the last chapter, and quite possibly isn****'****t the same reviewer) - Like I said before, I definitely plan to finish the first trilogy. You might have hit the nail on the head with Sasha, but you****'****ll have to wait for the third story to see****…**

**anonymous - To answer your points in order:**

**1) Thanks, I wasn****'****t sure how it****'****d be received.**

**2) That won****'****t be coming up for a little while, but I****'****ve already got the scene playing in my head. Things will get awkward.**

**3) Why, thank you.**

**4) I****'****m trying. It****'****s difficult to balance a character, but I think I****'****m getting the hang of it.**

**destiny - Thank you. I don****'****t want to spoil the ending, but suffice to say their relationship will have more than it****'****s share of ups and downs.**

**RegonaDC21 - That****'****s****…****actually a pretty cool job, though ironic when you think about it; GameStop preventing you from gaming. You****'****ll just have to wait and see how Ratchet responds when he figures out the truth; things should get **_**very**_** interesting****…**** Out of curiosity, what song did you have in mind? As for the movie, I****'****m not sure. I usually check independent reviews before watching anything on the big screen, but as long as Insomniac and the original voice cast are involved, yeah I probably would.**

**evil Ratchet96 - Aw, thanks. I didn****'****t think it was **_**that**_** good.**

**(Yet another) Guest - You have a valid point, since Qwark is a bit of a dick anyway. Though Ellen is no damsel, but she****'****s definitely stressed!**

**Pokecats649 - Ask and you shall receive, though probably not on the same scale for a little while.**

**BulletWitch1985 - Ah, nostalgia! Ratchet****'****s helped her gain a bit more confidence with weapons, but a majority of her skills will have to be learned on the fly considering what****'****s happening next. You****'****re definitely right about Qwark and Ellen; let****'****s just say there interactions will not end well****…**

**Woo! New favourites and follows! Hello and thank you to NarukoJasmin126 and pokecats649 for adding this story to your favourites and following along with ExplosiveDiarrhea and clarinet rat, in addition to those who already follow and favourite. Thank you all once again.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**I think I might have lost my touch a little towards the end, but I really wanted to get this segment finished and get the plot underway again. Here****'****s chapter 6.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 6: **

**False Leads &amp; Flying Trains**

* * *

**Metropolis, Kerwan**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.739 Galactic calendar**

**1:17pm local time**

Clank was worried. His internal chronometer suggested that it had been approximately 4.2 hours since he had last seen his organic companions, and there was still no sign of them.

After searching and cross referencing several databases, he had precisely triangulated the location of the robot repair shop they were searching for. Upon downloading the coordinates however, he had attempted to page Ratchet's Wrist Com only to receive no answer. Fearing the worst, he had bombarded the lombax with calls at regular three minute intervals while retracing his steps to the Riviera district where he had last seen his companions. What could they be doing? Why wouldn't Ratchet answer? Had agents of Drek gotten to them in his absence? Clank didn't know; a rare state of mind for one who usually had all the answers. Redoubling his efforts, Clank's sensors picked up a faint trace of residue from an unusual, but somehow familiar source of energy. For a moment he pondered, until a segment of his memory banks provided a moment of clarity.

Once Ellen had explained how she came to be on Veldin during their meal at the restaurant, Clank scanned her biometric data and found an odd energy signature centred around her abdomen. Deducing that this must be leftover traces from whatever reaction transported her so many light-years to this galaxy, he had filed the data away for future reference in order to eventually help her find a way home. For now though, it would become his primary method of tracking down his missing companions.

Sending out a faint pulse in the high end of the electromagnetic spectrum, his optics began to see a very faint trail that decayed less the more he followed it; indicating that he was getting closer to the source. Leaving the Riviera district, he followed the increasingly fresh residue deposits through the gates of a public park; meandering past swaying palms and finally ending up in a small clearing some 400 metres from the main entrance. Stopping at the source, he could see his organic companions laying motionless together on the ground; optics widening in alarm as his processor ran a mile a minute with worst case scenarios.

With no immediate sign of attackers, Clank strained his servos to cover the distance between them as fast as possible; praying that the worst had not come to pass. Reaching the lombax first, Clank's biometric scans could detect no signs of injury nor other maladies, such as illness or poison. If that was the case however, then why wasn't Ratchet functional? Why did he not respond to his calls? Why did Ellen appear to be in the same state? Using the calm logic inherent in any rightly thinking robotic life form, Clank skimmed terabytes of data regarding his inbuilt knowledge of organic life forms in the blink of an eye, his processor coming to a resounding conclusion.

"Oh my. They are... asleep?"

The gentle rise and fall of their chests combined with the lack of any evidence of foul play certainly suggested that was the case. Relief flooded his circuits along with a sense of puzzlement. Why were they sleeping out here in the middle of the day? Perhaps he would receive the answer once he managed to rouse them from their premature slumber.

{()}

Everything felt fuzzy and far too bright as Ratchet stirred in to consciousness, his eyes squinting against the harsh sun overhead as he tried to work out just what it was that persisted on shaking him from the most peaceful rest he'd had in ages. A gloved hand groggily rubbed bleary eyes; the lombax groaning incoherently as his vision swam into focus on a silver metallic head and a pair of concerned glowing green optics inches from his face. "Muh? Wha?"

"Ratchet, please wake up. This is no time to rest."

"Clank? What're you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," the minute robot replied. "I lost contact with you hours ago and came to investigate your absence, only to find you out here."

Ratchet yawned involuntarily as he tried to stretch his arms over his head, only to find that he still held Ellen's hand with one of his own. Slowly extracting himself, he bought both of them into a sitting position before gently trying to rouse the sleeping girl. "Ellen? Ellen? Come on, time to wake up."

"Mmm... Five more minutes, mum."

He chuckled as his lips descended towards her ear, his breath tickling it and causing her to twitch in irritation. "I'm not your mom, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't let you sleep in during the day." The human's eyes blinked open with dazed confusion as she lifted her head to see a pair of sparkling jade eyes belonging to a gently smirking feline face looking down on her. "Hey sleeping beauty, have a good rest?"

Her cheeks darkened slightly as she remembered the circumstances leading up to their impromptu nap together. It was so completely out of character for her to act that way with someone she barely knew, but she just felt so comfortable in his presence that it seemed so right at the time. His fur was so warm and soft, his carefree manner and concern for her wellbeing was endearing. And the conviction in those eyes...

_'No... I couldn't be, could I? He's a nice guy, but do I really think of him _that_ way?'_

Before she could consider further, Clank broke her chain of thought. "If I might ask, why were you both sleeping out here during the day cycle? I thought organics only slept at night."

Human and lombax exchanged a knowing look, neither wanting to really explain what exactly had transpired between them to the innocent looking minute machine. "Well... Ratchet helped train me to fight better, and we were so tired afterwards that we... decided to take a nap."

"Yeah, what she said," the lombax added before changing the subject. "So, did you manage to find what you were looking for?"

Clank nodded. "Indeed. Although information on the blarg was sparse, I did manage to locate the repair shop that we saw in that infobot commercial."

"Well, what're we waiting for? Lets go find our guy!"

Rising to their feet, Ratchet and Ellen dusted themselves off and stretched their legs before following their robot companion back out of the park and into the Rivera district once again. Hailing a cab, the lombax let Clank input the destination only to groan in realisation when he realised where they would be going. "You mean we were virtually on top of it this whole time?"

"I am afraid so. Still, at least we should still be able to obtain information on the whereabouts of Captain Qwark."

Ellen spent the ride fiddling with her new Wrist Com and browsing on the Holo-net; this galaxy's equivalent of the internet. Researching via the inbuilt search engine (Gaggle? Really?) she managed to find out a little more about the alien species she had seen so far, along with filling in a few blanks in her knowledge. From what she could tell, the dominant races of the Solana galaxy seemed to be the cazars and the novalians. The latter were the blue-skinned humanoids with black spikes decorating their bodies that she had already encountered, such as the plumber, and made up a large proportion of the manual labour market. The politically minded cazars on the other hand were physically similar to lombaxes in a way, only with fox-like features and courser, typically brown fur.

The engrossed redhead was about to check what species Skid and his agent were before she realised they were coming in to land... at the circular platform near to their landed ship where they had bought her new weapons. "Haven't we been here already?"

"Al's Robo Shack is located in the vicinity of our original landing zone," Clank prompted.

"So... We could have gone there in the first place?"

Ratchet sighed. "Yeah, well, we didn't know at the time. Still, at least we can stock up on ammo while we've got a chance."

So saying, the two stepped up to the vendor and pooled their bolts to buy as much ammunition as they could carry; not noticing one of their party missing until the human turned to ask a question. "Hey, Ratchet. Where's Clank?"

"Why he's right-" The lombax looked to the empty space he was indicating before whipping his head around to locate the minute machine with increasing concern. "Clank? Clank? Where are you?"

"There!"

He followed Ellen's pointing finger to the small silver robot disappearing into the crowd near a large brass-lined arch to their left. Not wasting time, Ratchet bounded after him with Ellen in hot pursuit; forcing their way through the clusters of people blocking their way.

"'Scuse me!"

"Sorry!"

"Coming through!"

Finally catching up to him, Ellen was about to ask Clank what the hell that was all about when she heard a somewhat distorted yet familiar voice. "Welcome to the Captain Qwark fitness course!"

_'Hang on, that's not Qwark...'_

In front of them was an animatronic effigy of Qwark that wouldn't look out of place at a theme park, complete with a speaker for a mouth and a giant spring connecting it's torso to the ground. Ellen found it to be marginal improvement over the real thing.

"If you're strong enough, fast enough and clever enough to beat _my_ fitness challenge, you will receive a reward from my head trainer! Simply make your way to the third island to complete the course. _Good luck!_" The automaton then launched into a textbook case of rapid fire, barely decipherable verbal small print and disclaimer designed to cover executives collective asses everywhere. "Qwark enterprises is not responsible for sprains, broken bones, snapped tendons, bruised egos or accidental death incurred while taking the challenge."

_'Course he's not.'_

Seeming still not to have noticed his two companions beside him, Clank stepped closer to the automaton before attempting to petition it. "Excuse me captain, but we have more pressing issues. We urgently need your assistance."

"Clank?"

The diminutive machine turned to look back at Ratchet and Ellen flanking him, but didn't seem too surprised at their presence. "Ratchet, Ellen, Captain Qwark is here!"

Ellen shifted uncomfortably while rubbing the back of her neck; not quite knowing how to let her metallic friend down gently. "Yeah, about that. Do you notice anything... _unusual_ about Captain Qwark?"

Clank did a reasonable impression of a confused kitten as he contemplated the now silent automaton in front of him. "Well, I find the fact that he has a spring where his legs should be to be quite puzzling."

Before she could open her mouth to reply, Ratchet set a hand on Ellen's shoulder and gave her a look that said 'I got this'. Letting the lombax take over, she stood back to see how he handled it as he drew Clank's attention to himself. "And... _why_ do you think that is?"

"Possibly an injury occurred while battling evil?"

The lombax snorted with amusement. "This isn't the real Captain Qwark, you _numskull!_ It's a robot!"

"Oh..."

Seeing her small friend so crestfallen, Ellen strode forward to comfort him while shooting a disapproving look at the lombax. "It's alright Clank. We all make mistakes. _Don't _we, Ratchet?"

"Uh... yeah, sure..." Not wanting to risk her ire, he coughed before clapping his hands together. "Right, this shouldn't be too hard."

Things didn't seem so tough as they scrambled up the initial artificially placed rock platforms, or at least until they were level with a sheer cliff face and a pair of parallel facing stamped metal walls in front of them. Ellen threw her hands up. "Great, how are we supposed to get up there?"

Ratchet only grinned in anticipation. "Easy. Watch this!" Taking a run up at one of the walls, the lombax leapt in to the air with appropriately cat-like grace; bunching his muscles for half a heartbeat as his legs made contact before bouncing off to the opposite wall. Repeating the process, he was soon at the top looking down over the edge; a grin on his face at her gawping expression. "Alright, your turn!"

"How the- You can't seriously expect me to do that!"

He shrugged. "Won't know until you try."

With a huff, the redhead backtracked as far as she dared without falling off the edge of the platform before running full belt at the metal wall. Attempting to imitate the lombax, Ellen did a surprisingly good job with the first bounce, even if it did jar her knees. Unfortunately this off set her for the relay, resulting in her skidding on the surface as her boots scrabbled to find purchase. Just as she was about to fall, she felt a strong grip around her wrist and looked up to see Ratchet leaning over the edge while he strained to pull her up.

"I gotcha."

As she managed to get a leg over the top of the platform, Ellen managed to pull herself up the rest of the way before collapsing on her back while panting heavily. "Thanks for the save."

He gave her a small grin as he pulled her to her feet for what must have been the umpteenth time that day. "Heh, wasn't like I was gonna leave you hanging."

She groaned at his weak attempt at humour before following him on the path around the tower to yet another pair of parallel metal walls set into the cliff face; this time with a twenty foot climb to the top. There was no way she was even going to attempt trying that stunt again; especially since a fall from that height would be fatal and there was no guarantee that Ratchet could save her hide again if she did. No, Ellen would find her own way up; and a brief look at her new equipment gave her an idea as to how. "Sod this..."

"Uh, Ellen? What're you doing?"

"Just watch."

Drawing her Versa Blade, Ellen thumbed the button on the guard and thrust it at the craggy cliff face in front of her. To her delight, the blade went through the rock like a hot knife through butter; but more importantly it gave her a hand hold as she hauled herself up and began to scale the wall while using the knife as an anchor. Ratchet stood worrying at the bottom of the cliff as he watched her inch closer to the top, but couldn't help but admire the way her muscles expanded and contracted as she pushed off from each hand hold. She might not be as agile as him, but she was definitely fit if her shapely thighs were anything to- He shook his head to dislodge that train of thought. Now wasn't the time.

"I made it! Your turn!"

Seeing her waving from the top of the artificial tower, he quickly ricocheted between the walls; making it to Ellen's level in a fraction of the time it had taken her to climb. "Show off."

He grinned nonchalantly before turning to the zipline leading to the second island, only to pause when he heard the gasp beside him. Ellen was looking over the edge of the tower with a sense of building dread. "I can't do it."

Ratchet blinked as he took in her mask of fear. "Do what? What's wrong?"

One of the things she hadn't mentioned to Ratchet or clank during their conversational meal was her fear of heights since the subject hadn't exactly come up. The fact that there was nothing between the zipline and the planet's surface God knows how far below only added to the human's mounting terror as she was forced to reveal one of her weaknesses; hoping that she wouldn't be ridiculed for her moderate phobia or have to take the plunge at all. "Ratchet... I'm afraid of heights..."

"But you climbed a twenty foot wall without any safety lines!"

"That's different."

"How is it any different?!"

"I had solid ground in reach then; but with this..."

"Ah..." The lombax was temporarily at a loss for what to do, until an idea suddenly crept in to his mind. He could only hope that she would trust him as he pulled her close.

"Hey! What're you doing?!"

"Ellen, I can get us across but you're gonna have to trust me."

She looked into his eyes, trying to see any sign of deceit only to find none. Swallowing, Ellen nodded with a shuddering breath before hugging him tightly as he threw them off the edge; using his wrench to slide down the zipline. At that given moment, anyone within a two block radius would have heard a high pitched scream of terror during the five seconds it took to get to the second island. To Ratchet it was damn near deafening; his sensitive ears ringing while his ribs ached from the vice-like grip the redhead had on him with her legs wrapped around his waist. Much as he liked having her close by, the lombax was starting to turn blue from the lack of breath and felt like he was going to black out any second.

"Ellen...can't breathe!"

"Are we safe?"

"Yes!"

"Oh thank God!"

Ellen released her death grip and immediately dropped to her knees on the blessedly solid ground as both she and Ratchet breathed heavily; one out of relief, the other starved of oxygen. Collecting herself, the redhead tilted her head to look up at the lombax with a flustered look. "Sorry Ratchet, didn't mean to hold you that tight. Me and heights just don't mix."

"S'alright," he managed between breaths. "Just... don't scream in my ear again, I think you burst an eardrum."

"Well, at least we don't have to do that again anytime soon.

...

"Ellen, you do realise there's another zipline to the third island, right?"

...

"Shit."

She _really_ wasn't looking forward to the second tower, which was quickly turning in to an episode of Wipeout on steroids. Moving platforms, disappearing footholds, more of those parkour walls which _brilliantly_ also moved occasionally. Seriously? Who actually thought this was a good idea? At least the second zipline wasn't quite so bad since she knew it was coming, but Ellen still had to clench her jaw shut to avoid screaming her lungs out again. Landing on the platform at the end, they quickly spotted what had to be Qwark's trainer performing jumping jacks; only they weren't exactly what any of the three had in mind for someone associated with fitness as a profession...

"Listen up, you lard balls! Zat vos ze most pathetic display I have ever seen on zat obstacle course!" Stood in front of them was a large, vaguely feminine robot wearing blue sweatpants and a sleeveless black tee, with sculpted pigtails for 'hair', and a stereotypical German accent so thick you could use it to cut bratwurst.

Ratchet cocked a brow. "Whadaya mean?"

Clank nodded in agreement. "We finished the circuit, ma'am."

"Oh ja, but it vas veak, veak, _veak!_ Vhen I vos competing I vould _devour_ courses like zat for breakfast!"

"Bet that's not all," Ratchet muttered, to which Ellen wholeheartedly agreed considering the robot looked like she had swallowed a wrecking ball whole.

"If it vere up to me, you vould drill, drill, _drill_ for ze_ rest of ze day!_ But, somehow you managed to impress that _fool_ Captain Qwark!"

"Captain Qwark knows about us?" Clank asked in surprise.

"How could he? We've never met," Ellen mused aloud with a furrowed brow.

"Vell, he most certainly does," the trainer retorted. "Und vorst of all, he vants me to give you a prize for that ridiculous performance!"

Even if the rather full-figured woman didn't seem to like them, the lombax was never one to turn down free stuff; especially when it might come in handy. "Cool, what is it?"

The personal trainer snorted contemptuously in response. "I'm supposed to give you a _Svingshot,_ so you can svay to and fro like little insects!"

"Great. So, if we can take it off your hands, maybe we can finally get going." Ellen was frankly starting to get fed up dealing with the stuck up bitch, but decided stay her rapidly flaring temper for her friends sakes. After all the crap they went through to get here, that prize better be worth it.

"Not so fast!" the rotund robot interrupted. "Today the three of you _disgraced_ my obstacle course, so I am going to make you pay!"

"But that prize is ours from the Captain," Clank protested. "That's not fair."

The metal woman merely tsked before shrugging. "Too bad, life's not fair."

Ellen growled lowly in her throat while Ratchet begrudgingly paid for the gadget that was rightly theirs. _'Miserable bitch, I wonder how fast she'd move with my blade shoved up her-'_

"Sweet! I bet Captain Qwark uses stuff like this all the time." Ellen blinked, turning her attention back to her surroundings in time to see Ratchet wielding an oversized silver device with a grappling hook protruding from the end and the plus-sized trainer making her way to a nearby air cab.

"Ha! _Real_ men can sving vithout silly toys like zat!" Turning to face them as she punched in her destination, the trainer leered at them for one last time. "The two of you make me sick!"

Ellen simply flipped her off.

...

"Hang on, where's mine?"

With a pig-like snort from the German accented robot, the taxi departed into the bustling traffic of the city; leaving two organics and a robot alone on the island with only one way back down. After playing around with the device, Ratchet managed to quickly get the hang of the Swingshot; using it on the nearby floating Versa-Targets to swing between the raised platforms up to the final zipline. Unfortunately Ellen had no choice but to cling to Ratchet again, which made each swing harder as he tried to compensate for the extra weight. She simply closed her eyes tight and held on tighter as they sped down the line back towards the first island again before dismounting.

Regaining her composure once she calmed herself down, Ellen walked alongside Ratchet past the Qwark bot and back through the arch, only to notice something was a little off. "Guys, where did everybody go?"

The area was completely deserted; the once teeming crowds now vanished from the pedestrian walkways with the only sound coming from the distant traffic. The atmosphere felt oppressive to Ellen, alarm bells ringing in her head as she stepped a little closer to Ratchet who now had his Bomb Glove equipped while his eyes swept the area. "Alright. When I say, slowly make your way over the bridge past the vendor and back to the ship. I don't know what's going on, but-"

Their plan was suddenly interrupted by a rocket screaming over their heads, demolishing the archway and sending them sprawling as a guttural voice yelled over the din. "There they are! Take 'em out!"

Struggling back to their feet in a daze, the additional sound of multiple boots hitting the paved walkways kicked Ratchet's instincts into gear as he grabbed Ellen around the waist and practically threw her behind a cluster of debris in time to avoid another rocket exploding where they stood.

"What the hell was that?!" The redhead yelled.

"I think it's some of Drek's guys! They must be here to take out that guy from the infobot," Ratchet yelled back; his ears still ringing from the nearby explosion.

"Actually, I believe they are here to terminate us," Clank cut in.

Ellen shook her head. "Doesn't matter. We need to get past them if we're going to live long enough to argue about it."

Squeezing his hand into a fist to dispense a bomb, Ratchet gave a nod of affirmation. "Alright, you ready for this?"

The human drew her Blaster before swallowing to calm her nerves, giving a slight nod as she mentally tried to psyche herself up for the coming fight. Not saying another word, Ratchet span round his cover; slinging his bomb on a flat trajectory towards the direction of their rocket launching foe. Close on his heels, Ellen kept her machine pistol up and level in the two-handed grip Ratchet had shown her as they got a good look at their enemy stood in the next archway along; a blarg. He was huge for want of a better term, almost eight feet tall by her estimate and rippling with thick muscles under the silver and black trim combat suit. Black fingerless gloves adorned his hands, a high-tech pack on his back with an antennae protruding out, and a stupidly big gun that would dwarf Ratchet held in one hand while the other pointed a meaty digit at them.

"Get 'em!"

With the sound of synthesised barking, a pair of chunky silver metal dogs with wide, flat heads came bounding around the corner of the arch and straight at them with jaws snapping. Without hesitation, Ellen sighted on the closest dog and let off a burst before quickly targeting the other one. Ratchet meanwhile was already moving between the sparking corpses and closing on the more dangerous blarg; his head snapping to one side in order to avoid the rocket the reddish-purple skinned alien's gun spat at him before slinging a pair of bombs that hit dead centre in his foe's chest that literally blew him away.

Turning the corner, they crossed a suspended walkway guarded by another blarg heavy and robot dog combo leading to a tree-lined islet bordering a tower block. No sooner did they reach the other side than they found another blarg siccing a pack of the metal mutts on them; Ratchet quickly switching to his Pyrocitor and finding the flame spewing weapon to be surprisingly effective against the charging robotic canines as he swept his weapon back and forth over them. While he kept the dogs busy, Ellen was already moving past the trees to target the blarg directly only to be forced to dive aside in order to avoid a rocket to the face. Pushing herself back up to her feet, the human caught a glimpse of the bulky alien retreating over the bridge to the next area and fired an uncoordinated burst in his general direction; taking off in pursuit with Ratchet alongside, only for them to skid to a halt at the sound of cloth whipping in the wind.

From their right, a small single-seat, open cockpit helicopter swooped in to hover over the bridge; it's machine guns chattering as it hosed their position with fire. Scattering, Ratchet backflipped away from the stream of death; tossing a bomb which missed the chopper but forced its pilot to swerve away. Taking her chance, Ellen planted herself firmly and aimed down the sights of her Blaster as she poured round after round of fire into the now vulnerable helo. Several bullets must have struck something vital, because the flying machine began to spiral out of control; coughing black smoke as the blarg pilot desperately fought to level out only for it to shatter on impact with the building opposite the bridge.

The fleeing blarg awaited them on the other side, but seemed to have bought friends in the form of another blarg and his attack dogs. Not giving them a chance, Ratchet and Ellen bracketed the group with bombs and cleared them out before taking the escalator down a level. More dogs awaited them in the shadow of a bronze spaceship statue, along with a new type of robot. After dropping the dogs, Ellen moved to engage the fleeing machine only to be suddenly grabbed by Ratchet.

"Wha? What're you-"

"Ellen, look."

Her face paled at what her foot was inches from stepping on; a landmine. This robot seemed to lay them sporadically in clusters, but thankfully none of them seemed to be of the proximity variety since they were able to gingerly step around the explosives; quickly finding the mine layer dropping off a fresh batch, only to take it down with a thrown bomb in return. Ahead of them on the next criss-crossing walkway, Ratchet and Ellen could see a pair of the blarg heavies attempting to break into a shop with an effigy of a rotating robot holding a spanner aloft mounted on top looking very familiar.

"Hey Ratchet, isn't that the place we saw in that infobot advert?"

"Looks like it. See? I told you they were trying to shut the guy up!"

The lombax's raised voice seemed to have attracted attention however as a pair of rockets blew chunks out of the stairway they stood atop. With nowhere to hide, Ellen drilled the first blarg with an extended burst from her Blaster while Ratchet decided to get up close with his wrench. After knocking the blarg senseless, the trio managed to override the shutter door thanks to Clank's mastery of electronic systems and cautiously entered the seemingly abandoned shop. Piles of various junk, cogs, and springs lay clustered against a wall with crates of the stuff stacked haphazardly on several shelves as well; along with a large robot leg in one corner that looked like it belonged to a Gundam and a couple of chunky tyres for some reason.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

Silence initially greeted the lombax's question until a rustling of movement from behind the shop counter had Ellen spinning to face it with her Blaster levelled; Ratchet following suit beside her with his wrench held high as a tuft of ginger hair atop a bespectacled butter yellow face protruded from behind the glorified desk, along with a pair of shaking hands. "Gah! Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"

"Sorry," Ellen apologised while holstering her weapon; free hand held up placidly. "Thought you were someone else."

"Y-you're not one of them?" The shopkeeper sagged in relief before drawing a sharp intake of breath, as if suddenly remembering something. "Quick! Close the door! Before anymore of those blarg show up!"

Complying, Clank restored the shutter to it's previous state, which promptly shorted out, before rejoining his companions in time for Ratchet to ask the obvious question. "So, what were you doing hiding under the counter?"

"Ratchet, this is the man we saw on the infobot," the dinky silver robot reminded him. "Remember? He knows Captain Qwark!"

"Hey, yeah, you're that robot guy. Al, right?"

Seeming to have regained his composure now he wasn't in imminent danger, Al adjusted his glasses before responding in a not-quite patronising way. "No, actually, I _build_ robots. I, myself, am not a 'robot guy' _per se..._"

Ratchet leaned over to stage whisper in Ellen's ear as the salesman chuckled nasally at his own wit. "Nerd."

She merely shrugged. "Seems alright to me."

"I like him," Clank responded in kind.

"So, now that we've cleared that up, what can I do for you?" the portly shopkeeper asked while leaning on his counter.

"Well, we saw your infobot announcement. _You_ were with Captain Qwark. _We are_ trying to find Captain Qwark. We thought you could help us." Trust Clank to get to the heart of the matter; unfortunately the forthcoming answer wasn't what they hoped for.

"Your logic is commendable, however I haven't seen Captain Qwark since we shot that commercial." Adopting a thoughtful look, Al lowered the magnifier that seemed to be a permanent feature on his head to his eye before leaning over to better inspect Clank. "Say... do you run on standard XP-18 sister boards?"

Clank raised a metallic digit before responding. "Version 7.66."

The shopkeeper grinned. "Back at ya! I may be able to help you out after all. How does a Heli-Pack upgrade sound?"

"Upgrade?" Ratchet questioned.

"Natch. Since he's a seven-six-six, I could have the little guy up and flying in no time! Of course, I'll just need my fee... for service."

Ellen looked thoughtfully at her Wrist Com before deciding it was time she started paying the duo back. "How much?"

With a good chunk of her money gone, Al lifted up a waiting Clank on to the counter. "Okay, this won't hurt a bit."

The minute machine seemed to be having second thoughts though at the sight of the various power tools behind the shop counter. "Hey, wait!"

Within a few seconds, all Ratchet and Ellen could hear was drilling and what sounded like an angle grinder while Al's bulkier frame blocked their view of their friend. As quick as he'd started, Al was done. Turning around he placed Clank o the counter top where a set of helicopter blades sprouted from the top of his head and his arm sockets. "Ratchet, am I cool now?"

The lombax couldn't resist a chuckle. "Yeah, you da man, Clank."

"You're welcome!" the portly proprietor hinted with a small smile at his handiwork as he prepared to stack his tools back in their rightful places, perhaps hoping for more business in the future.

Having thought about how quickly Al had upgraded Clank, Ellen leaned forward on the counter to catch the butter yellow alien's attention. "Can I help you, miss?"

She smiled disarmingly. "I hope so. Do you sell anything similar to a Swingshot, or if not could you make up something similar?"

"I mostly deal in robots and consumer electronics, but I have been known to dabble in gadgets from time to time. What did you have in mind?"

Between them, they managed to thrash out the details of a device that would fulfil the role of a Swingshot without being limited to only being used on Versa-Targets. The result was cobbled together from various odds and ends Al had in store, the final result resembling a bulky pistol with a grappling hook protruding from the barrel, with the attached line coiled up on a motorised spool at the gadget's aft. For payment, Ellen allowed Al to keep the patent on the device; asking only for a 10% commission fee on any future sales in return. Shaking hands on the deal, Ellen was happy that she had secured a small source of income for the foreseeable future; though they still need to get back to their ship and the front door no longer worked.

"I don't suppose you have a back door by any chance?"

It turns out he did, filled as it was with vast shipping crates full of various parts for building robots; although for now It was simply their ticket out of there. Waving goodbye to Al, who promptly locked himself back in his shop, Ratchet got a chance to try out Clank's new upgrade. Crouching next to a stack of crates, the lombax's powerful leg muscles propelled him vertically with Clank triggering his new ability at the apex to further increase their potential altitude. Easily landing atop the haphazardly stacked containers, he sprinted forward before leaping off the edge with Clank's assistance; the helicopter blades propelling him forth to a small service walkway beyond Al's little compound.

Ellen meanwhile got a chance to see if her idea really had merit. Aligning the rudimentary sight on the newly dubbed Grapple Gun, a resounding pop of air pressure escaped the barrel air as she fired at the pillar next to the service elevator where Ratchet waited; the metal hook sailing through the air before impacting a few feet from where she had aimed. Undeterred, she felt the line go tense as the hook bit into the decorative pillar before giving it an experimental tug. Confident it would hold, she squeezed the trigger again to begin the process of winding the cable in, only to yelp in surprise as it nigh took the human off her feet. It almost felt like someone had pulled her arm out of her socket as the Grapple Gun rapidly pulled her up the vertical surface, but she couldn't deny it's effectiveness. Managing to dislodge the hook with a little help from Ratchet, she realised there might be a few kinks to work out, but at least she could now keep up with energetic lombax.

Riding the service lift, Ellen groaned upon reaching the top. "What is it with these people and heights?"

The only way forward involved leaping off the raised platform to the adjacent rooftop below; a feat only accomplished with Ratchet using the Heli-Pack to slow their descent while unceremoniously gripping under Ellen's armpits and across her chest. Dangling with a mixture of fear and annoyance, Ellen selected her Bomb Glove as a trio of blarg soldiers greeted them with raised weapons. Still in mid-air, she used her limited movement to toss a few bombs in their direction, forcing them to scatter. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Ratchet released his hold and rolled to one side to avoid the inevitable rocket fire before springing left and using his Pyrocitor to ignite a blarg that was targeting Ellen and finishing him off with his wrench. Ellen meanwhile had caught one blarg off guard with an underhand bomb toss, sending him flailing off the edge of the building, while the other bore down on her fully intent on striking her with his weapon.

Missing the attack by the skin of her teeth, Ellen stumbled on to her back before jabbing her Blaster towards his chest and holding down the trigger. The blarg slumped to the floor mere feet away, and a sudden realisation made her feel sick as she watched the light fade from his eyes. She had never killed anyone before, and here she was ending someone's life without batting an eyelid. Sure she had blown up robots and wild animals, but it was easy to dismiss them as unthinking, unfeeling creatures, even if Clank proved otherwise. But these blarg seemed a little closer to home; they had thoughts, feelings, and desires just like any human being, which had suddenly been cut short by her actions. Ellen didn't regret killing him as such since he was actively trying to kill her; the adrenaline and sense of self-preservation keeping her alive and sane thus far. But to be so desensitised to violence...

She shook off her melancholy, filing it away for later when her life wasn't in danger. At the end of the day it was a case of 'us or them' and she knew that it wouldn't be the last life she would need to take if they hoped to stop Drek's mad scheme. With dampened spirits, she joined her lombax and robot friends on another service elevator that took them to an observation deck close to the main transit hub. A pack of guard dogs greeted them along with a mine layer which were soon scrapped, along with the field generator that spawned them. The panoramic view of the city was mostly lost on the still thoughtful human as she crossed the narrow bridge alongside Ratchet to the train station, but she soon focused on the task at hand once they rode the escalator at the end to the train station

More blarg soldiers and robot dogs greeted them on the station's platform the second the lombax and human stepped off the automated stairs, both sides rapidly turning the area into a kill zone as they used the scattered piles of shipping crates and luggage as cover while exchanging fire. Rockets blew apart baggage carts and were responded to in kind as Ratchet and Ellen leapfrogged from cover to cover; one laying down suppressing fire with Blaster and bomb while the other moved up before switching roles and repeating the process. Using these tactics, the duo quickly managed to flush out their enemies and overwhelm the numerically superior force; leaving them tired, but ultimately victorious.

The sound of a whistle drew their attention to the sky train slowly starting to move out of the station, and more importantly another infobot hovering over one of the flatbed cars. Pushing their leg muscles as hard as possible in pursuit, they barely managed to land amongst the cargo on the last car as it pulled out of the station. Peeking around a crate, Ellen realised that the train was full of those same crates that Ratchet had smashed on Novalis, and being guarded by a squad of those heavily armed blarg soldiers spread out over the carriages.

_'Looks like Drek is cleaning house here, too.'_

With nowhere to hide, stealth was clearly not an option as they gingerly advanced from car to car; nothing but a few feet of metal and an anti-gravity drive engine preventing them from plummeting miles to their deaths. It wasn't until they got to the third car that they were spotted; a rocket blowing away a stack of crates and almost sending Ellen over the edge had it not been for Ratchet's quick reactions. Steadying herself, she let off a burst from her machine pistol only to see her bullets arc to the left as the train meandered around an apartment block. Cursing aloud, the human aimed ahead of her target to compensate for the centrifugal force caused by the locomotive while Ratchet sprung to the next carriage to engage up close.

Much like the station, bullets, bombs, and high explosive rockets were traded back and forth with no margin for error as the human and lombax carefully made their way to the front. The sole remaining blarg made a last stand at the engine's cab before falling to a pair of thrown bombs; the infobot he was guarding being snatched before it could fall off the edge. Unfortunately something vital must have been hit during the battle, because the old style flying locomotive suddenly began to rupture with a string of explosions; fiery blasts renting the boiler and causing the whole train to slowly dip as it rapidly began to lose power. Ratchet's mind ran a mile a minute; knowing that even though they were approaching the next station, they'd never make it in time at their current speed before the whole train dropped like a stone. It was then that something clicked inside his head as he got an idea that was so ludicrous, it might actually work.

"Clank, you still got my hoverboard?"

"Yes, but I do not see-"

"Don't argue with me, just give it here!" Powering up Skid's gift, Ratchet pulled Ellen aboard before pushing off for the rear of the train. Their combined weight and the narrow board made things awkward, but the lombax knew he had no other choice.

"You do have a plan, right?" Ellen asked with fear tinged in her voice.

"If ever there was a time I needed you to trust me, it's now. Just hold, on no matter what."

They were close now; less than fifty feet away when the engine finally gave up the ghost. With a final detonation the train pitched into a dive, trailing smoke and the attached carriages as it rapidly gained momentum. It was this same increase in speed and angle that catapulted the board riding trio through the air towards the empty station platform; Clank assisting with his propeller blades as ratchet angled them towards their goal. The board kissed the edge of the platform, sending the occupants sprawling; bruised, but thankful at their narrow escape. Ellen rolled onto her stomach, her heart pounding in her mouth considering that was simultaneously the most frightening and exhilarating thing she had ever experienced. Pushing herself up, the redhead wondered if these narrow escapes were going to become a regular occurrence as she observed her lombax and robot friends climb unsteadily to their feet.

"That was awesome!" Ratchet crowed. "Did you _see_ that jump? I told ya to trust me!"

"I must concede, I did not expect you to use a locomotive as a giant lever. Your knowledge of the laws of physics saved our lives," Clank acceded with a hint of respect.

"Uh, yeah, that was totally what I was doing," the lombax bluffed.

Ellen was just praying that she didn't have to jump off anything else today, when she spotted the infobot they had found on the train lying dazed on the platform. "Ratchet? Clank?" Gathering around, the bobbing machine extended it's head and began to play its recorded message.

"Greetings, Executive Chairman Drek!" a large robot with red optics chomping on a metallic cigar saluted the camera. In the background a leafy green forest with massive trees could be seen, interspersed with cyan-painted robots armed with axes, attempting to chop them down.

"Dispense with the pleasantries, lieutenant." That was definitely Drek's voice and face, even if it was in monochrome for some reason. Maybe this was a communications intercept, but why store it on an infobot? "My sources tell me you're behind schedule. You must prepare this planet to be harvested for our new world!"

The robot lieutenant clenched a fist to his chest. "Yes sir. As you can see, everything is moving along as planned."

In the background, one of the axe-wielding robots accidentally sliced another in half; not that Drek seemed to notice. "I'm counting on you, lieutenant. And as your former commander can tell you, I _don't_ take disappointment well."

The mechanical soldier bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Yes sir! I won't fail!"

With the message over, the infobot went in to Clank's storage space; a worried expression on his face. "Drek is destroying yet another planet."

"I guess we should be thankful that his lackeys aren't half as smart as he is," Ellen murmured.

"Yeah, if _that's_ the kind of help he's getting, I don't think we have anything to worry about," Ratchet smirked.

"You should not underestimate Chairman Drek," Clank admonished. "He is quite dangerous. We _must_ find Captain Qwark."

"Well, what leads to we have to go on?" the solitary female member of their group asked.

There was silent contemplation for a few moments before Ratchet spoke up. "Look, that lieutenant doesn't seem so tough. Let's take him out ourselves."

Clank held a pair of metal digits to his chin in thought. "Hmm, perhaps we can _persuade_ the lieutenant to tell us where Drek is."

The lombax merely grinned in anticipation. "Ha-ha, now you're talkin'!"

Finding the station exit, the trio descended via elevator back to what passed as ground level and ended up conveniently close to their ship. Taking the opportunity to restock their on ammo once more at the vendor, they were soon back at the borrowed courier ship; Clank entering the new coordinates into the navigation computer before Ratchet eased the vessel off the deck and they were on their way once again. Next stop, planet Eudora; and hopefully an opportunity to find out what Drek was planning next.

* * *

**I think I****'****ve been watching too many Bruckheimer movies recently. Well****… ****added a little twist at the end there and gave Ellen a new toy to allow her to keep up with Ratchet. Let****'****s face it, she can****'****t just magically get all the same guns and gizmos that he has; though I will have to make compromises like this. The Grapple Gun is an interesting bridge between the Swingshot and the Heli-Pack, but is inferior to both in some ways; meaning Ellen will still have to rely on Ratchet in places in order to progress.**

**Well, until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	7. Chapter 7: Trees & Troubles

**Author****'****s note:**

**1200 views? 1200 views?! I can****'****t believe it, and yet here we are. Once again I****'****m updating earlier than expected, despite each chapter seeming to be bigger than the last. Funny how that works out.**

**I****'****d like to thank AustinGamer117 for his help on this chapter and dispelling my writers block. I had originally intended for a certain portion of the chapter (you****'****ll know when you get there) to consist of a discussion between Clank and Ellen on humanity in depth, but ended up cutting and rewriting it for two reasons.**

**First, it severely affected pacing. Second, it was stale and boring as hell. Instead, I dramatically shortened it in order to pace better and the conversation to flow more naturally rather than sound like it came straight out of a textbook. Overall, I think this slimmer version works better, and allows the opportunity for Clank to ask more questions on humanity later on rather than just having a massive info dump.**

**If anyone****'****s interested in making a cover for this story, the offer****'****s still open. Just PM me and let me know. Thank you.**

**Review replies:**

**Pokecats649 - Thanks again. Little by little, they will get closer. Unless something happens of course****…**

**AustinGamer117 - (Tips hat) Thank you very much. Chapter 5 is actually the first of several interludes designed to build Ratchet and Ellen****'****s relationship. As for Clank and Ellen, that****'****s in this chapter, thanks once again to your assistance.**

**destiny - Glad you liked it. Hopefully this chapter will be to your liking as well.**

**anonymous - Heh. That was actually unintentional, as is this early release. Hope you enjoy it still.**

**Blair93 - And a hello to you too. I can****'****t honestly answer your first question without giving a good chunk of plot away, but there will definitely be a sequel.**

**ReginaDC21 - Couldn****'****t stop laughing at the mental image, truly priceless. Considering what****'****s happening in this chapter, Ellen might get a trial by fire quicker than she expected, especially since things are going to go south very soon.**

**I actually reread Chapter 5 with the song in question playing in the background, and I couldn****'****t help but realise several eerily close parallels between Ratchet and Ellen****'****s little bout in the park and scenes from the Lion King. I swear Disney, I****'****m not plagiarising you! Sorry you had a crappy day, major launches must be a grind. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it a little.**

**Hello and thank you to drmonicblood and Amberdiamondswords for adding this story to your favourites list along with RavenShichiyou who is also following. **

**I think you know the drill by now. I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**If you came for the explosions, you might feel a little disappointed since this chapter can get a little wordy. Otherwise, here****'****s chapter 7.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 7: **

**Trees &amp; Troubles**

* * *

**Logging Site, Eudora**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**11:23am local time**

According to Ellen's Holo-net searches, Eudora was supposed to be a nature reserve; home to dozens of rare and endangered species, along with a minute population of indigenous tribes. Gazing down on the planet spanning forest as they came in to land, she was beginning to see why. A vibrant canopy of greens and golden reds almost blocked out the ground far below, sheer cliffs of chalk and limestone decorated with moss jutting up in places to break up the monotony. Ellen almost wondered with idle amusement whether she might glimpse Ewoks swinging through the trees as well when the courier ship's sudden deceleration bought her back to reality.

Their chosen landing zone was near to a series of prefabricated, bronzed-yellow structures that had probably been assembled after being dropped from orbit, and overlooked a massive sawmill-come-factory at the summit of a distant peak. Dividing the two areas in half was a wide and steep gorge with a river meandering through it hundreds of feet below, while a maelstrom of giant butterflies, prop-driven drones, and cargo haulers criss-crossed the skies above the massive logging operation in progress. All in all, it was a Greenpeace activists worst nightmare come true. Drawing her attention back down to earth, Ellen reacted to the sound of metal on metal by drawing her Blaster and taking on a defensive stance; an action proven unnecessary since it was only Ratchet smashing his wrench into a now down and twitching blue-painted robot clutching a large axe.

Seeing the immediate area clear, she jogged up to the lombax just as he hopped down the embankment to the level below; again choosing to run straight at one of the metal lumberjacks and engage up close. This time the machine was ready, for what good it did; Ratchet easily jumping over the clumsy swipe and bringing his own weapon down in a vertical strike that slammed the robot back into the tree it had been attempting to cut down next to a open drawbridge. In the meantime, Ellen had been using her elevated perch to take pot shots with her Blaster at a cluster of hovering robots with circular-saws for arms congregating on a worn path to her direct right and slightly below; easily picking them off before they could even get close. With the immediate threat gone, Ratchet rejoined her as they trekked behind their ship in an attempt to find access to the largest prefab building; logic suggesting that it would be the best place to find the robot lieutenant.

The three companions soon found an obvious entrance atop a small incline bordered by a sheer drop into the gorge on their right. But as they approached, the trio soon realised it might be a more difficult task to open than they imagined; Ellen perhaps summing it up best. "Well, we're not getting through that anytime soon."

The shutter protecting the doorway was so thick that it looked like it could stop a volley from a battleship, which ruled out blowing it up, and then there was the security interface. The circular panel on the right side of the frame looked like it needed a key that was part torque wrench in order to open if the concentric inset grooves were anything to go by. According to the Gadgetron Helpdesk app on their Wrist Coms, this was one of the company's Invinco-Lock security doors, and needed a device called a Trespasser in order to gain access.

"Somehow, I don't think we're gonna find one lying around here," Ratchet commented offhandedly while taking in the abundance of nature and distinct lack of civilisation nearby.

Ellen meanwhile was thoughtfully examining the device, trying to fathom alternatives when something caught her eye. Using her knife to jimmy off an access panel, she stared in surprise at what sat among the myriad of wires and circuit boards. _'Is that... a USB port?'_

Nestled in-between a cluster of cables sat an innocuous looking little port that looked like it could take a USB cable. How or why it was here, she honestly didn't know; but the human intended to take full advantage of it as ideas began to churn in her mind. "Clank, can I have my satchel back please? I think I might know a way to bypass this door." Reaching into his storage compartment, Clank came up with the requested item before holding it out to her. Upon opening the flap, Ellen began to rummage through her satchel, discarding several items before coming up with an old netbook and a USB transfer cable. "Knew this was in here somewhere."

"Ellen, what is that device?" the little robot queried with a curious tilt of his helm.

She grinned as the micro laptop powered on and started going through the boot up sequence. "It's something from my world; my old netbook, a portable computer. If I can get into the source code, I should be able to override the lock's programming with this."

Ratchet looked a little unconvinced. "Are you sure? That thing looks a little..."

"Primitive?" Clank offered.

"Well, yeah. I mean, considering the tech gap, your 'netbook' couldn't possibly-"

"I'm in."

To both the lombax and robot's surprise, Ellen's outdated device was plugged into the security panel and a series of windows streaming binary code appeared on screen along with one displaying command prompts. "No firewalls, no additional security measures... It's almost like they never expected someone to hack the damn thing." At the sudden silence, she turned to face her companions, a chuckle escaping her lips at their expressions. "What?"

"Fascinating..."

Clank tottered closer to observe the data streams on the small LCD screen while Ratchet spluttered at the improbability. "But you've never even seen one of these locks before, how could you even know how to hack one?"

Ellen couldn't help but laugh at finally getting one up on the lombax before finally deigning to reply. "You're not the only one with skills, fuzz ball." Her face fell a little as she turned her attention back to the screen. "It might take a little while though. Right now I've got a looping programme attempting to brute force the lock, but it's only coming up with a few hits. Probably going to have to do this the old fashioned way..." The redhead let out a breath before pushing a few idle strands of hair out of her eyes. "I'm going to have to stay to monitor the feed. You should probably get started on looking for alternate locations for our lieutenant."

"I will also stay," Clank added from his position in front of the keyboard. "I believe I will be of most use here."

"Are you... sure you guys will be okay on your own?" Ratchet asked hesitantly. He knew Ellen was capable of holding her own, but the idea of being separated and unable to come to her aid in time gnawed at him. Still, she was an independent kind of girl; trying to nanny her would push her further away, and at least Clank could keep her company and maybe warn her of any incoming threats.

"Go on you, we'll be fine," Ellen shooed him away. "Besides, all of Drek's goons will be far too busy dealing with all the explosions that seem to follow you around to notice us. That, and I've always got Clank to protect me."

She smiled mischievously down at the sentient machine, whose eyes lit up with apprehension. "I am... unsure of your logic, but I will endeavour to do my best."

The human rubbed his metal dome affectionately. "That's the spirit!" Turning her eyes towards the lombax once more, she reached down towards her Quick Select. "Here, take this. Just in case." He took the proffered Grapple Gun hesitantly before holstering it. "you'd better get going. Just... try not to blow everything up, okay?"

Ratchet grinned while shouldering his wrench. "No promises, it's kinda my thing. You just stay safe. I'll be back soon."

Taking off down the embankment once again, Ratchet used his wrench to turn the bolt crank that raised the drawbridge before crossing it into the forest on the other side of the gorge. It didn't take long for the dull crump of explosions and metallic cries to fade away into the background noise of droning engines and distant birdsong, leaving the human and robot in relative peace. "Alright," Ellen cracked her knuckles before rolling her shoulders. "Lets get to it."

Though he found the technology to be somewhat backwards and quaint, Clank quickly became acquainted with Ellen's netbook. Between the two, they managed to refine Ellen's rudimentary programme in to something tailored for this type of lock; speeding up the override process by half as much again. "And...done!" With a stab of the return key on the redhead's part, their newly rewritten source code began to self execute and compile the data necessary to crack the lock... eventually. Even sped up, it would take almost half an hour with this beta code to get conclusive results; meaning they would have to keep themselves occupied for a little while longer.

With a grunting sigh, Ellen sat down with her back against the pre-fabricated structure, her eyes taking in the still wondrous surroundings in spite of the logging operation in progress. "Are you alright, Ellen?"

She turned her head slightly to see her tiny metal companion tottering up to her. Even sat down, he barely came up to her chest. "I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind, what with the whole 'galaxy in danger' and everything."

Clank parked himself next to her in the shade before turning his wide green optics to face her. "I understand that talking about an issue is the first step towards resolving it. Would you mind sharing what bothers you so?"

Ellen briefly considered flat out refusing, but realised she might need an outlet for all her pent up tension. She liked Ratchet a lot, but he didn't seem like the type to deal with anything 'mushy'. Clank on the other hand was cordial, polite and insofar as she had seen, a good listener. Perhaps he might be able to give an impartial take upon what was gnawing at her. "Until a few days ago I'd never touched a gun before, let alone tried to take another's life. Ever since I met you guys it's been one never ending battle after another, and quite frankly it's starting to worry me."

Clank looked up at her with sympathy. "You have only done what you had to do. Were it any other circumstances, would you have acted in the same way?"

She shook her head. "It's not that. It's just... I've been _killing_ robots and animals for the past day or so and felt no regret. But when I looked into that blarg's eyes on Metropolis after I shot him point blank..." The human turned her now glistening blue eyes down to her lap. "I felt guilty. I know he was trying to kill me, but in those last few moments I didn't see a 'bad guy'. I saw a living being like you or me, with thoughts and feelings that I cruelly snuffed out. Did he have a dream for the future? A family to mourn him?"

"Ellen..."

"The worst thing though, was that it took that one moment to make me realise what I was becoming. I felt _nothing._ Every time I killed, it became a little easier."

Clank hesitantly looked her in the eye. "Was it... because they were not human? Would you have been more hesitant had they more closely resembled your species?"

Ellen sighed heavily. "Honestly? Yeah, I think so. It's just... easier to distance myself; to just see a bunch of alien monsters or soulless machines, even if I should know better. I mean, look at you." She turned to face the robot with the disappointed look on his face. "You're smart, have a strong sense of morality, and couldn't be more alive if you tried." The redhead rubbed her tearing eyes with the heels of her palms. "I've sown more death and destruction in the last 24 hours than most people on my home world have witnessed in their entire lives. I just... I don't want to become a monster."

_'I wonder how my brother managed to cope on the battlefield...'_

A pair of cool metallic hands pried the fingers from her eyes, her blurry vision filled with the gentle glow of wide green optics. "Do not cry Ellen. You are not a monster. Though I am... somewhat offended that you might think of my kind in such a way, I understand your reasons why."

"Clank..."

"You appear to be a nice, well adjusted young woman forced in to a situation beyond her control. It is unsurprising that you would suffer mental turmoil, considering the vast differences between your native culture and that of Solana."

"But..."

"Were you the monster that you so claim, you would not feel guilt over your actions; no matter how unavoidable they might be. Your concern for being desensitised to violence is understandable, however I fear that it might lead to your undoing."

"Wh-what are saying?"

"Forgive me for saying so, but as an organic, you are inherently flawed. Your emotions rule your actions, leading to illogical, sometimes dangerous decisions concerning yourself and others. The only way to negate such effects would be to suppress or temporarily ignore them in such a manner as you have already done. By acting in such a way, you avoid acuminating unnecessary emotional stress that could otherwise affect your ability to function efficiently."

"That's... a little cold"

"Perhaps so, but a necessity if you are to continue surviving. You may have extinguished life, but it was only in the defence of yourself and others. As long as you remember that distinction, I am confident your ideals will not wander astray. You can be assured that Drek's army will hold no such compunctions for ourselves or anyone else who stands in their way."

Ellen smiled down at her small companion. "Didn't take you for a philosopher."

Clank merely offered a slight shrug in return. "As you said to Ratchet, you are not the only one with skills; even if I rarely get chance to exercise them."

She leaned down to envelope him in a hug, a gesture reciprocated in kind. "Thanks for being there for me, even if I'm moping about things I can't change."

"You are welcome, Ellen."

Just then, a chime from the netbook bought their attention back to the task at hand. Disengaging from their little therapy session, Clank wandered over to inspect the hacking programmes progress while Ellen leaned over his shoulder on all fours. "It would appear that the data stream has been a partial success. I will begin re-encoding the necessary sequence to successfully hack the security door." So saying, the little silver robot set to work at a rapid pace; streams of ones and zeroes condensing in to a form that would eventually become an executable programme. As he worked, Clank only dedicated a small portion of his considerable processor to the mundane task, with the rest considering his still emotionally strained friend. Concluding that a subject change was in order, the diminutive machine attempted to strike up conversation once more.

"Ellen, would you be willing to share more information about your home? I found our conversation at the restaurant to be quite fascinating."

She shrugged. "Sure. What did you want to know?"

"You said that your planet Earth has only one sentient species, yet you are all disunited?"

Ellen sat back on her knees while her brow furrowed in thought. "Not exactly. I mean, we have organisations like the United nations, which is made up of several countries working together, but usually each nation stands on it's own. In my case, Scotland, along with England, Wales, and technically parts of Northern Ireland, are all part of the United Kingdom. Though we have differing cultures, and languages in some cases, we are all technically one people."

"What of the rest of your planet?"

"Well, like I said, Most countries kind of do their own thing; each unique in their own way. Language, culture, government, religion; I don't think you'd find any two countries on Earth that are remotely the same."

"It certainly sounds like your planet has a great amount of diversity, but would the lack of common ground not lead to conflict?"

"More often than not, yeah. People have been using race, religion, and resources to justify wars for years, and sometimes people discriminate against others for the pettiest of reasons. But it's those differences that make my species what it is. Why would we want to all be the same? Though we all evolved from the same common ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago, we couldn't be more varied if we tried; and I don't just mean in terms of aesthetics like hair and skin colour."

"You are referring to the cultural aspects?" Clank questioned.

Ellen nodded. "That, and languages too. There are literally hundreds of unique spoken and written languages on Earth, not even counting variants and regional dialects. The UK alone has nearly fifty different variations on English, not including the extinct variants, and that's just one small nation compared to the rest of the world."

"Would the sheer number of languages not stunt relations, and in turn cause more division?"

"You could argue that, but there are more ways to communicate than verbally. Through mediums like art, literature, music, and more modern forms of media such as movies, we can express ourselves and our ideas in ways that transcend the language barrier. Over thousands of years, humanity has come from cave dwelling primitives drawing on rock with fats and dyes, to an exploding technologically advanced society with the world as our canvas. We've clawed our way to the top of the food chain, surviving everything life can throw at us. Ferocious wildlife, extreme weather patterns, inhospitable terrain; we've either tamed it or found ways to circumvent it.

We are a contradictory species. On one hand, we are capable of great evil and destruction; polluting our environment, mass genocides from countless wars, the stockpiling of nuclear weapons that could extinguish all life several times over. On the other hand though, we can create and nurture; saving several species from extinction, creating life in the most barren of environments, bringing aid to those affected by ecological disaster and the less fortunate. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for all our flaws, we as a species are proud and noble when we are needed most, and remain dedicated to constantly improving ourselves and our environment for the future of our planet and our people."

Clank filed the information away with increasing interest before replying. "That is... most profound. You have certainly given me much to contemplate." He cocked his head to one side in brief thought before speaking again. "Hmm... From what you have told me thus far, it would appear that your planet's geopolitical situation is almost a microcosm of the Solana galaxy in terms of structure; with the planets representing individual nations and the galactic president acting as the 'uniting' political influence for the collective worlds."

"Hang on, _galactic_ president?"

Clank nodded absently. "Indeed. The galactic president is elected to represent the Solana galaxy for a two year term before standing once more for re-election. His, or indeed her decisions influence every world in the galactic community via the locally elected representatives. You mentioned each nation on Earth has it's own form of government? How does that work?"

Ellen chuckled. "Barely, if you consider most are squabbling like school kids half the time, but it still works out in the end. Generally speaking, each government follows one of the major doctrines such as democracy, socialism, or monarchies - though most of those are in decline. Then you have despotism and dictatorships, which are kind of self explanatory, and looked down upon by most of the western world."

"Western world?"

"Oh, right. Well, a good chunk of the richest nations live in the western hemisphere, and are almost universally representative democracies, along with several others dotted around the globe. Representative Democracy is-"

"A form of government in which all eligible citizens participate equally through elected representatives in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. Representatives are elected by the public, who in turn hold the power to select other representatives, such as the president. It is the officially recognised form of government in the Solana galaxy"

"Oh. Okay then. Guess I don't need to explain that one."

"I am familiar with most of the other forms of political models, but what is this 'socialism'?"

"Well, on paper, it's supposed to be an economic and social system to-"

"Oh my!"

Ellen's head snapped up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Something has infiltrated the system; the programme code is being deleted and an alert has been issued to all nearby units."

_'Shit! A Trojan horse? Knew the security system was too easy to get in to.'_

She cursed herself robustly while drawing her Blaster and checking it was still loaded and functional. "How long do we have?"

Clank didn't even look up as his fingers danced across the keyboard. "They are already here. I require more time to stabilise the source code and repair the damage."

Whipping round Ellen levelled her machine pistol only to discover that a cluster of the off-yellow circular-saw robots were hovering up the embankment towards them; followed by a trio of their bipedal blue-painted, axe-wielding counterparts. "Do what you can for the door, I'll keep them busy."

"Understood. Please, stay safe Ellen."

As she squeezed off a burst at the nearest machine, Ellen absently wondered how Ratchet was faring. _'Probably having an easier time than me.'_

{()}

_'I bet Ellen's having an easier time than me. Probably bored out of her skull.'_

Ratchet continued to wreck havoc as he ran through Eudora's dense forest. Reaching the top of a shallow incline on a beaten pathway through the undergrowth, the lombax threw a bomb at a group consisting of a lumberjack bot and a pair of blarg troopers before quickly switching back to his wrench without breaking stride. He had been initially surprised at the presence of blarg soldiers in what was supposedly an all robot logging operation, but assumed they had to be extra security put in place after his and Ellen's previous attacks on Drek's assets.

Though he could move faster without having to constantly watch her, Ratchet missed having Ellen fighting by his side; their constant banter and the knowledge that she had his back as much as he had hers was something that he began to take for granted in the short partnership they'd forged so far. He didn't realise how much he'd miss her until after they were separated, making him wonder how he would cope if or when they managed to find a way to get her home. Still, it wasn't like she was going anywhere without him for the time being, and it gave the lombax more motivation to finish what he was doing and get back to her quicker.

The lombax's bomb caught two of the group in the explosion, but a surviving blarg trooper managed to dive out of the blast radius. Rising to his feet, the alien soldier put down rapid fire with his rifle as fast as he could pull the trigger; but none even made it remotely close to the subsonic furry missile that was Ratchet before he introduced an Omni-Wrench to the blarg's face. With the immediate area clear, Ratchet activated a bolt crank that seemed to control a hydraulic platform on the ridge above him before making use of Ellen's Grapple Gun to pull himself up to the same level. Climbing atop the platform, the lombax began to wish that he had Clank with him as he wondered how he was going to cross the chasm that separated him from the platform on the other side of the gorge; the path beyond leading to a storage warehouse of some kind.

He Almost facepalmed when he realised that the answer was quite literally in his hands.

Aiming at a radio tower attached to the cliff face on the opposite side, Ratchet pulled the trigger on the Grapple gun once again; the tensile cable trailing behind the launched hook and wrapping itself around the tall mast. An experimental tug and a flying leap later saw the lombax swinging Tarzan style across the gap with a yell of excitement; heading straight towards a large red-painted robot wielding a massive hammer-axe combo weapon in one hand that awaited his arrival on the other side that was nearly as tall again as one of the blarg heavies they'd encountered in Metropolis. Without pause, the swinging golden-furred feline retracted the Grapple Gun's cable at the apex of his swing; the momentum carrying him upwards in an arc that ended up with him landing on top of the mechanical lumberjack's head.

"Sup?"

The robot responded with bringing the hammer edge of it's weapon up in an attempt to flatten the lombax; probably not the best move in hindsight. Ratchet backflipped off of the machine's shoulders before the weapon could come anywhere near him; landing in time to see the lumberjack bot cave in it's own head. The robot stood motionless for a few seconds with stray sparks erupting from what was left of it's neck before collapsing like a puppet with it's strings cut; absently twitching all the while. With a snort of laughter, Ratchet turned away and continued to press on towards the warehouse while wondering yet again how Ellen was getting along without him.

{()}

_'This is so not my day.'_

Ellen continued to fire short bursts with her Blaster from behind a pair of robot corpses she had piled up as sandbags while ducking to avoid incoming fire. Things had initially gone well for the defending human, since her opponents had been only equipped with melee weapons, and she managed to pick them off before they could get close. Then the blarg had shown up, and suddenly she found herself caught for a loop; pinned down as she was midway up the slope to the door while they rained down suppressive fire and tried to advance on her position.

The squad of alien soldiers were slimmer versions of the ones she'd previously encountered in Metropolis, with the same reddish-purple skin and a similar height and build to the average human. They wore the same silver and black trim combat suit, black fingerless gloves, and high-tech backpack with protruding antennae as their bigger cousins, but wielded conventional rifles rather than the freaking huge rocket launchers she had been dreading. Not that it made things any easier..

"Clank! How's that door?!"

The diminutive machine continued to type on the keyboard, ignoring a stray round that ricocheted inches from his head. "Almost there Ellen. Please remain patient a few more minutes"

"We'll be dead in a few minutes!"

She flinched instinctively as a grenade sailed over her cover and landed by her arm; grabbing the explosive orb and slinging it back while internally thanking God that it didn't explode on contact like her Bomb Glove munitions did. That had been another more recent tactic they had been trying, and it was only a matter of time until they decided to spam her with grenades. Deciding to widen the distance, Ellen began tossing bombs randomly down range to cover her retreat before sprinting back up the hill to where the courier ship was parked. Gunfire chewed at her heels as she slid in to the relative safety of her new cover, Ellen's eyes observing the look of concentration on Clank's face as he continued to battle the security system.

"I have disabled three gates, there are two remaining."

"Fantastic, keep going!"

Dropping to one knee, Ellen span around her cover with her Blaster raised and firing. The blarg troopers had reached her barricade, and two had already vaulted it; both falling to her weapon even as more went to ground to avoid being hit. Both sides continued to exchange fire; the blarg taking two more casualties while she received several cuts and bruises from near misses and slamming herself back against the ship to avoid being hit. Suddenly, Ellen's Blaster clicked empty; only the adrenaline in her bloodstream allowing her to react in time to the sudden assault upon her position. Diving to avoid a potentially fatal shot, the redhead tucked into a roll while re-equipping her Bomb Glove; sending an explosive surprise at the pockmarked robot body barricade.

The mechanical corpses detonated with a shower of lethal shrapnel, catching most of the remaining blarg in the blast radius with some unintentionally spearing the redhead's left leg. Clutching her thigh, Ellen grimaced as she struggled to pull out the metal fragments that impaled her; tears brimming with each agonising centimetre wrenched from her bleeding limb. After what felt like an age, she finally pulled out the last shard with a cry before collapsing on her knees with shock and fatigue. When she could finally breath regularly again, Ellen turned her attention back to her now numb leg wound only to gasp in surprise at what she saw; blood clotting and flesh knitting itself back together before her very eyes at a ridiculous rate until there was nothing but a small blemish where a stab wound ought to be.

"What the hell?! How could..."

Clank had made his way over when he heard the scream of pain. Inspecting the wound, he nodded in satisfaction to himself before addressing his human companion. "It would appear that the Nanotech in your bloodstream is functioning properly. There is no permanent damage to your leg aside from some small scarring, and that too will heal with time."

"Nanotech? You mean... I have _nanites_ swimming in my blood stream?! How could I-"

_"I found you in the impact crater, bought you back here and treated your wounds."_

"Ratchet..." the human murmured. "He must have used some of that Nanotech stuff on me while I was knocked out on Veldin."

Clank nodded in agreement. "I can only assume so, since the technology isn't prevalent on your planet."

Ellen let out a breath he didn't even realise she was holding. "Well, at least I'm not dead from an allergic reaction or something. Bloody fuzz ball should have asked me before injecting me with stuff that's never been tested on humans before."

Before Clank could retort, a series of reverberating thuds drew their attention to the drawbridge below, and the big red lumberjack robot crossing with it's weapon in tow. Suddenly, one of the circular-saw armed robots came flying out of nowhere and slammed into the machine's torso; the explosion causing it to stagger and take a step back. A barrage of similar robo-projectiles rapidly followed suit; sailing through the air at high velocity and pounding the hulking lumberjack into scrap metal. From Ellen and Clank's immediate right came the reason for the somewhat bizarre rescue; Ratchet, of course, wielding a large, tubular, silver cannon decorated with black and yellow hazard stripes.

"Hey guys, guess what I found?" Bounding up to them, the lombax took in their deadpan expressions, as well as the surrounding bodies and burnt grass along the slope. "What'd I miss?"

{()}

After a brief recount by both parties, Ellen learned that Ratchet had found no sign of the robot lieutenant and that his new toy was called a Suck Cannon; a weapon designed to hoover up objects or enemies of a certain mass and expel them at subsonic speeds as exploding projectiles. Ellen managed to resist making a crude joke involving sucking and blowing, no matter how tempting it was; mainly due to Clank's presence and the fact that he had finally managed to disable the damn security shutter. With the thick door descending into the floor and Ellen's gear safely back inside Clank's storage space, the group walked through what looked like a loading bay before finding themselves back outside and staring over a dead drop to the bottom of the gorge below.

"Seriously? After all that it turned out to be a bloody dead end?!"

Ratchet meanwhile was observing the random hodgepodge of ridges and ledges doting the ravine as it gently curved back on itself in an anticlockwise direction before turning to look back at a now distinctly wary Ellen. "Oh no, I know that look. Whatever you're planning, it better not involve jumping off stupidly high cliffs with bottomless pits below."

It might have taken both Ratchet and Clank a little more than they anticipated to convince her otherwise, but ultimately their human companion found herself being carried like a sack of potatoes across the gap to a small ledge a dozen feet below via Heli-Pack while internally cursing up a storm. After leaping across the next, thankfully smaller gap, they came across a bolt crank which they both turned in unison; giving Ellen a chance to try out her Versa Blade's magnetic feature and revealing a series of Versa-Targets. Swinging between them with her Grapple Gun made Ellen feel a little nauseous; especially when she had to let go mid-swing in order to latch on to the second set of Versa-Targets.

Landing on the far edge with Ratchet, another bolt crank lowered a series of bobbing platforms hovering with the aid of a trio of prop turbines; requiring a series of heart stopping running jumps and careful timing in order to land on each one. Finally reaching solid ground again with the aid of Heli-Pack and Grapple Gun respectively, a final bolt crank revealed another set of Versa-Targets, and more importantly the back entrance of the large pre-fabricated structure where they suspected their target to reside. Quickly hauling themselves up, Ellen groaned with frustration at the sight of another Security door; but to the relief of all present, Clank had learned from prior experience and had the door disabled within five minutes of setting up.

Inside past yet more soon to be pilfered shipping crates, they could spot their current object of interest working at a computer console nearby. With Clank leading the team into the room, the robot lieutenant suddenly whirled round at the sound of tiny metal footsteps with a snarl on his face; the much smaller robot quickly attempting some martial arts poses in order to intimidate the much larger machine. To his surprise it seemed to work as the lieutenant froze briefly before running off out of the now unlocked front entrance, though not before leaving an infobot in his wake; this miraculous turn of events most definitely having nothing to do with the pair of heavily armed organics stood aggressively behind him, who were now trying to hide said weapons with innocent smiles.

"You sure showed him," Ratchet quipped while gesturing towards the departed robot.

"I suppose I did," Clank acknowledged with a swipe of his fist.

Ellen had to fight to keep from awwing out loud at the tiny robot's display; it was like watching a puppy trying to take on a mountain lion and coming out on top. She soon schooled her features however as the discarded infobot drifted back up off the ground from where it had fallen and expanded it's head screen to show what looked like a commercial. It started off with a small, beady eyed, almost cat-like alien using an oversized spanner to tighten a nut on a pipe in a dank metallic corridor before something suddenly snapped and noxious black fumes sprayed at his face.

"Is your current occupation leaving a rotten taste in your mouth?" asked an increasingly familiar voice, and not in a good way. The scene switched to an expansive platform on a space station with an unrivalled view of the stars and an asteroid belt in the background; the unmistakable figure of Drek strolling up to the camera before continuing. "Then you need to know about BTS; Blarg Tactical Research Station. Hi, I'm Supreme Executive Chairman Drek, and we here at BTS are seeking motivated individuals to fill positions in these _exciting_ careers." Drek continued to narrate over a series of video clips depicting... dubious job vacancies.

"Grind Boot tester, warhead assembly technician..." A bespectacled, lab coat wearing, little cat-like alien slid down a rail while wearing a pair or red high-tech boots, only to flip head over heels and land painfully on his groin before falling off. "...mutant animal husbandry, robot repairman..." Another cat scientist dangled a chicken in front of a grotesque creature that looked like a cockroach crossed with a snake, only for said creature to swallow the alien and leave the chicken whole. "...Suck Cannon test dummy, and administrative assistant." A pair of the lab coat wearing quasi-felines were stood on a small platform; the one armed with a Suck Cannon hoovering up his companion before toppling backwards from the sudden increase in weight to the depths below. The camera switched back to a close up of Drek back on the observation platform as he completed his sales pitch. "So call BTS! Build our weapons, while you build your future!"

The final shot showed the same cat like alien from the start of the advert as he made a phone gesture with one hand while he spoke in a high pitched tone. "I'm calling BTS today!"

With the video ended, Clank stored the infobot while Ratchet's eyes lit up with excitement. "Now we're talkin'! Did you see all the cool gadgets they were making? Let's go get some!"

"No, we must continue our search for Captain Qwark," Clank responded stolidly.

The lombax sighed in frustration before a small smile found it's way on to his lips. "you know what? You're absolutely right."

His little mechanical companion cocked his head in curiosity "I am?"

"Sure! We need to find Qwark. Although when we find him, wouldn't it be nice to tell him where Drek is?"

The somewhat naive sentient machine rubbed his chin as he considered the lombax's transparent coercion. "I... suppose."

"Well, we go to the space station and talk to the scientists," Ratchet continued. "They work for Drek, so they're bound to know where he is."

Ellen settled her weight on one leg as she crossed her arms, eyes narrowing at the furry feline. "Yes, because your intentions are strictly honourable, and have absolutely nothing to do with stealing anything that isn't nailed down."

Clank seemed to agree. "I am unsure about your logic."

Ratchet simply waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, you guys think too much! Come on, let's go!"

After liberating the stacked crates of any valuables, the trio soon made their way back to their ship. With Ratchet punching in the coordinates to their next destination, Ellen took a last look out at the marred beauty of Eudora before they set off; drinking in the view and fervently wishing she had a camera. With the location of this research station they were one step closer to stopping Drek; all they had to do now was pick up any clues at this BTRS as to the blarg leader's whereabouts and then find Qwark.

_'Somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy...'_

* * *

**Well, that was a little different. It felt kind of odd to write something a little more intellectual in places after several rapidly paced chapters, but I think it made a nice change.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	8. Chapter 8: Buttons & Biohazards

**Author****'****s note:**

**Hello everyone, back once again with a new chapter. Took a bit to try and make it more interesting and less repetitive, but I think I managed to get a good hold on it. Not much else to say really, other than to thank you all for your patience and for sticking with this story so far.**

**I****'****d still like to have a cover for this story if anyone****'****s interested in helping. Just PM me and let me know Anyone? No? Okay I****'****m going to shut up now.**

**Review replies:**

**AustinGamer117 - No, thank you. Without your help I****'****d probably still be trying to figure out how to get past that hurdle of a conversation. Much appreciated.**

**anonymous - Aw thanks, you flatterer.**

**UmbraWitchFaye - Thank you, glad I could inspire a little retro gaming and keep the series past alive. It****'****s getting more difficult to keep Ratchet in the dark about Simon, but the big reveal won****'****t be for a while yet. You****'****re right about Qwark and Helga; they****'****ll get along like a fox and a mongoose in a chicken coop. As for Drek, you****'****ll just have to wait and see****…**

**destiny - Thank you once again. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.**

**ReginaDC21 - Yeah he probably does. He****'****s like a kid in a toy store abusing the hell out of everything with a ****'****try me****'**** button. I take it you didn****'****t like the blarg station level? To be fair, if there were proper lock-strafe controls rather than having to wait for the thrust pack upgrade then it would be so much easier; especially the boss fight. Somehow I can****'****t see her being too pleased with Qwark period, let alone after he reveals his true colours.**

**Hope you****'****re feeling better now, I kind of forgot that it was the independence day weekend on your side of the pond. Must make sleeping hell with fireworks going off at all hours.**

**Hello and thank you to Giana Nora and 245 for adding this story to your favourites and follows, along with all you regulars. Thank you for your dedication and support.**

**And now the usual. I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Here****'****s chapter 8. Enjoy.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 8: **

**Buttons &amp; Biohazards**

* * *

**Blarg Tactical Research Station, Nebula G34**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**10:23am GST**

"Well. This isn't ominous as hell."

To be honest, the warning signs were all there. There had been no attempts to hail their vessel on approach or even try to shoot at them; unusual considering the usual blargian welcoming committee for uninvited guests. The fact that all local radio frequencies were filled with static in addition to the now completely deserted docking bay that the courier ship had landed in had certainly been disconcerting. Adding to that the eerily quiet atmosphere, and the fact that the sealed bulkheads and force fields on the room exits looked more like they were designed to keep something in rather than out cranked things up a notch to Goosebumps inducing levels. All in all, it ticked all the right boxes for a budget sci-fi slash horror movie, and Ellen wasn't keen on taking the starring role.

"Ah, your just being paranoid. Come on, let's go find some gadg- I mean, scientists."

Ellen merely rolled her eyes before trudging after the departing lombax. The landing platform in the docking bay was actually the same one upon which Drek stood in the infobot commercial they had seen on Eudora, and the view from the wall spanning reinforced observation window was even more impressive in person. The station looked like it had been originally built on and around a cluster of asteroids, possibly for mining resources, before being expanded into a network of orbiting modules linked together by a series of tunnels and umbilicals. Considering the number of half dismantled ships docked around the station's perimeter, Ellen wondered if they were being decommissioned here or possibly being upgraded. Either option wasn't good, as it implied that Drek had a large fleet and ships to spare.

Arriving at a sealed door on the far left of the hanger, the trio came across another Invinco-Lock which needed hacking in order to pass. Fortunately Clank had learned from prior experience and could now strip the door's defences in under two minutes with Ellen's netbook, although he hoped to find a way to integrate their custom hacking programme into the human and lombax's Wrist Coms eventually in order to do away with the bulky setup. For now though, the way was clear; but the passage beyond terminated after only a dozen paces at another identical door.

"Hmm, this must be an airlock for maintenance outside the station," Clank mused before turning to face his companions. "I am afraid you will not be able to proceed past this point due to the lack of breathable atmosphere. I will have to continue alone."

Ellen smiled down at their little mechanical friend. "It's alright. We'll just wait here until you get back."

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah, just don't take too long. I hate standing still."

Sealing the door behind him, Clank waited at the far side of the room as the pressure equalised before the door finally opened to reveal a cargo elevator to the station outside; leaving the lombax and human to entertain themselves by checking the latest stock at the Gadgetron vendor parked atop the ramp to the docking bay while he explored. After refilling her ammo reserves, Ellen decided to take a look around to pass the time while Ratchet was busy salivating over the newest shiny weapons on sale. Strolling past the observation window for the third time, she decided to take a look at the doors on the other side of the room; idly noting that the one to her immediate left looked pretty ominous, what with the layered force field and biohazard stickers plastered on the wall.

Easing away, she noticed that the adjacent door actually led to a small automated shuttle, which upon closer inspection had a set of pre-programmed coordinates to a decommissioned blarg warship anchored outside the facility. Given the option between boredom and the chance for a little exploration of her own, Ellen made the obvious choice. "Ratchet! I'm going to take a look at that blarg ship outside! I'll be back in a bit!"

"Okay, don't be too long!" Ratchet shouted back before his brain caught up with his mouth. "Wait, you're doing what? Ellen, wait for-"

Too late. The human had already stuck her head back round the corner, and the dull clunking sound followed by a small shuttle drifting across the void between the observation window and a nearby still intact blarg ship signalled that Ellen was already on her way. Ratchet sighed in frustration as he gripped the safety rail that surrounded the landing pad with worry, his eyes never leaving the diminishing shape of the craft dwarfed by the much larger vessel.

_'Damn it. Whatever happens, please be safe.'_

{()}

Ellen hadn't taken more than two steps out of the shuttle before she started to regret her decision to come alone. The atmosphere of the mothballed ship's interior was as oppressive as it was cramped, with uprooted panelling and dangling wires where machinery had been ripped out. A pair of blast doors lined with hazard stripes and lit with dull amber lights greeting her almost immediately at the end of the aft docking station, forcing her to choose a path. She swallowed before drawing her trusty Blaster and making her decision.

_'Well, no going back now.'_

She was well aware that there was actually nothing preventing her from hightailing it back out of there right now, but foolish pride and a determination to prove herself to Ratchet stayed her hand, and she'd be damned if she didn't come out of this situation with something to show for it. Steeling herself, the redhead hit the release button for the door only to come face to face with an equally surprised blarg dressed in a green spacesuit with a transparent dome helmet, oxygen tanks on his back, and a squat tubular weapon that was quickly rising towards her. A panicked burst of fire quickly cut him down, and as soon as her heart had left her throat, Ellen pushed on into the room beyond.

It looked like the ship was made up of a series of interconnecting corridors that were broken up by those heavy blast doors; the fact they all looked the same making navigation difficult in the cramped quarters. At the next junction Ellen elected to go right again, hoping that she could follow the hull all the way round to the other side of the ship. As the door opened, Ellen instinctively ducked as something green and scaly came flying at her face. Rising in to a defensive crouch, she found her would be assailant to be a slightly bulbous quadrupedal frog-lizard thing about the size of a cat, with solid unblinking eyes and a gaping maw full of teeth.

Without hesitation she squeezed off a single round, causing the creature to explode into a mucus-like paste that plastered the walls, and annoyingly her boots as well. Grimacing at the thought of getting the stains out, Ellen turned around only to see a swarm of the red-eyed creatures staring at her unblinkingly before rushing forwards as one. Frantically back-pedalling, the human sprayed the horde indiscriminately; thinning their numbers to manageable levels before taking the offensive. Since these things seemed fairly fragile, Ellen decided now was as good a time as any to test out her Versa Blade in actual combat as she swiped at each mutant reptile that came close. The knife was actually pretty effective, especially with the enhanced cutting feature, though she found it difficult to hit the relatively small and fast targets until they actively leapt at her.

In short order the corridor was clear, and Ellen sported several sickly green decorative patches that were starting to smell a bit rancid. Pushing through the blast door at the end, she was met with an open space flanked with gutted generators and a pair of the hazmat blarg as she started to think of them, due to their attire and equipment. It was here that she got the unpleasant surprise of finding out what exactly those guns did; the closest blarg pointing his weapon at the floor and shooting forth a short wall of flames that somehow rolled across the metal-plated floor without interruption by any contact with other objects. With flames licking at her heels, the startled human yelped in an undignified manner as she jumped over the projectile only to have to hop another a scant second later. It looked like the blarg intended to tag team her, and she intended to even the field.

Firing her machine pistol wildly, Ellen forced one of the blarg's aim wide as he tried to sidestep her attack; his own fiery blast going high and nearly singeing her hair. A concentrated burst dropped the enemy soldier just as she was forced to seek cover behind one of the generators to avoid his friend's retaliation before she could reply in kind. With both troopers dead, Ellen hit the button for the next blast door only to find herself on the gutted remnants of the bridge, along with a trio of those large long-necked cockroach hybrids that she'd briefly glimpsed in the infobot commercial scuttling around the only console left intact and active.

It was here the redhead learned that not only did the roaches have an armoured carapace, but that her Blaster had about as much effect as a BB gun on the now angry mutant hybrids. Deciding to try something more explosive, she switched to her Bomb Glove while trying to maintain some distance from their snapping jaws. Circling the room, Ellen quickly dispatched one with a trio of bombs before being forced to change position once again. Running in a serpentine fashion, she flung bombs behind her in an effort to slow down her pursuers and was rewarded with a loud screech as the second roach fell. The last mutant backed off, hissing all the while as it tried to use the comparatively long reach of it's neck to lash out at the human. Ellen simply waited for the right moment to give it a bomb-shaped gobstopper as it's jaw gaped open and frantically backed off when it swallowed a spilt second before the creature simply ceased to be.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ellen gingerly stepped around the still twitching corpses and approached her goal. In contrast to the rest of the ship, the only remaining active console looked virtually brand new, if a little simplistic considering the fact that it only had one giant red button. _'Well, I've come this far. Might as well see what this thing does.'_

Reaching forward with caution, the human firmly pushed the button with a dull click. For a second nothing happened, then all hell broke loose. A massive explosion tore through the ship's hull, making Ellen lose balance and fall to her knees on the cold metallic floor of the bridge. Klaxons sounded, and the previously sealed blast doors began to open automatically as similar detonations reverberated through out the vessel as a pre-recorded message sounded over the still intact PA system. "Thank you for selecting our automated self-destruct feature. Vessel annihilation sequence initiated. Please remove all personal belongings."

Ellen's eyes widened in panic as they skimmed over the timer that had just popped on the console; showing less than 45 seconds remaining. "Oh... fudge me sideways..."

{()}

"Ellen!"

Ratchet could only watch with increasing panic as the once staunch vessel floating against a backdrop of stars began to rupture and tear itself apart. His unblinking eyes darted over the entire area, straining to catch a glimpse of his human companion's shuttle. Without warning the ship exploded spectacularly; a field of slowly drifting debris taking it's place. _'Where is she? No, she couldn't have been on there when it... She has to be okay!'_

As if in answer to his thoughts, a dull clunking sound followed by a hiss of pressure proceeded a slightly worse for wear and heavily breathing, but otherwise alive Ellen stumbling into the docking bay while clutching an infobot. "The next time I have an urge to press mysterious shiny buttons, remind me to keep my hands to myself."

Before she could utter another word, the dishevelled human found herself enveloped by the arms of a thoroughly relieved lombax. "I thought I'd lost you."

It took a full five seconds for a surprised Ellen to tentatively respond to the gesture in kind. "Not that I'm not glad to see you too Ratchet, but you might want to let go. This green crap kind of stains."

A somewhat flustered Ratchet took a step back before trying to school his features, only to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the rancid smell and the blotches of mucus-like gunk that now decorated his fur. "Eugh, what is this stuff?"

Ellen scratched the back of her neck. "That's...part of what I wanted to talk to you about. That and I found this."

She jostled the infobot that was still clutched in her hand before setting it down and allowing it to begin playing it's message. The screen expanded to show a lilac-suited female robot news reporter clutching a microphone stood in a city plaza lit by streetlights and decorated with what looked like cherry blossom trees. "This is Darla Gratch reporting live from Blackwater City. We've just learnt that Captain Qwark will be presenting the grand prize at the intergalactic Hoverboard championship, which will be held here over the next few days."

As the reporter was talking to the camera, a black and yellow, fully armoured soldier - or possibly robot, it was hard to tell - wandered past in the background before realising he was being filmed and waving to the camera. While he was distracted, a large, green amoeba-like monster with solid yellow eyes ate the soldier whole before slowly approaching the unsuspecting reporter. "In related news, this planet has recently been suffering from an infestation of strange amoeboid creatures. The city's administration has assured this reporter that every step has been taken to eradicate these nuisances. Darla Gratch, channel two news." Just as the amoeboid was about to eat her, the video cut off and the infobot returned to normal.

"Did you see that?"

Ellen nodded with an unsettled look upon her face. "Yeah... I hope that reporter's alright."

Ratchet waved dismissively. "Ah, she's fine... I think. I was talking about the Hoverboard races."

His human companion idly stretched before replying. "It does seem like the best lead so far, especially if that news report is recent."

The lombax grinned. "Exactly. All we gotta do is wait for Clank to get back, scope the place out and be on our way. But before that..." He grimly peeled a chunk of the green gunge off of his fur before flicking it at the nearest wall where it stuck like glue. "What exactly happened on that ship before you blew it up, and why are you covered in this stuff?"

After a recap of what she had encountered on the vessel, Ratchet leaned back against a wall with folded arms and a contemplative look on his face. "Seems more like they were trying to quarantine the ship rather than dismantle it if they were willing to blow it up. Wonder if that's what happened to the others?"

Ellen followed the lombax's gesture to the remaining shells of former warships floating outside the facility before pursing her lips. "That's what I think too, it certainly explains why the place has been locked down. You think anyone's still alive in the facilities?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Doubtful. Probably all dead or evacuated. Hmm... Wonder if they left anything interesting behind?"

The red-headed girl sighed with exasperation. "You can't honestly still be thinking about going in there after all I've told you? We should just take what we've got and leave."

"We are leaving? But I have only just returned."

Turning their attention back to the docking bay, both human and lombax spotted the diminutive form of Clank as he tottered towards them while struggling under the cumbersome semi-transparent gadget he held in his arms. "Hey, you're back."

Clank nodded cordially towards the golden-furred feline. "Indeed, and I found this."

Plucking the contraption from his arms, Ratchet examined it from all angles as he spoke. "Hey, cool! It's a... a... what is it?"

"A Hydrodisplacer."

"Great, I always wanted one of those... I guess..."

Ellen rolled her eyes before deigning a response. "Wonderful, we've got your gizmo. _Now _can we get off the creepy infested space station?"

Clank shook his head. "I do not understand. Were we not meant to search for clues as to Drek's location?"

Ratchet cocked a finger before pointing it at the small robot. "Exactly! Plus any scientists left here might be in danger from those mutant animals you fought, _right Ellen?_"

He turned his gaze to the human girl at his side who was glaring daggers at him, gambling that his actions would goad her in to the desired response. Ellen hated being put on the spot like this; she knew Clank wanted to get to Qwark as quickly as possible, but doing so might doom any survivors left in the facility. She could just tell him about the content of the infobot and leave, but after all she had said during her conversation with the little robot on Eudora, it would make her a massive hypocrite to potentially abandon people just to keep her own hide safe. Sometimes, morality really sucked.

"_Of course,_" she managed to grind out before whispering in the lombax's ear once Clank's attention was distracted elsewhere. "That was low, fuzz ball. You do realise I'll get you back for that later, right?"

He merely shrugged with a knowing smirk on his face. "You'd have to catch me first."

Watching him saunter off, Ellen's fists balled briefly before relaxing as she followed in his wake with thoughts of petty minded vengeance churning in her brain. _'Just you wait, fuzz ball. Just you wait...'_

The only door they hadn't tried yet was the most heavily secured; the one with the active force field and biohazard markings Ellen had bypassed earlier. Studying the device, Clank cupped his chin with a pair of metal fingers in thought. "Hmm... This door appears to be fortified with an electrified quantum entanglement energy field that is almost certainly lethal to organic life forms. We will need to locate and disable the gener-"

The sound of metal striking metal reverberated through the still air, followed by the force field flickering and shutting down. "Done."

All eyes turned to Ratchet as he held his wrench over the now smoking remains of the glowing yellow ball which had been floating in a containment field next to the door, and apparently generated the power for the force field. With a shrug, Ellen pushed the button to open the sealed entrance only to pause at the uninviting passage beyond. The dull lighting flickered randomly down the seemingly endless corridor, strange sounds emanating from the depths.

"You go first."

Ratchet snorted at her suggestion before taking point with Clank on his back; Ellen bringing up the rear with her Blaster drawn and uneasily sweeping for targets. They hadn't cleared the door by more than a few feet when it suddenly slammed shut and noxious green fumes started pouring out of grates in the rounded walls. Holding their collective breaths, the lombax and human sprinted through the next doorway only to suddenly find dozens of the mutant amphibians swarming out of the ventilation ducts around them. With his Pyrocitor equipped, Ratchet quite literally blazed a trail with Ellen watching his back, picking off any strays he had missed.

At the end of the corridor they came across a security checkpoint of sorts with a pair of defending blarg hazmat troopers already carpeting their approach with fire; a short burst of Ellen's machine pistol and a single bomb from Ratchet quickly eliminating the threat and leaving them to deal with a bigger force field blocking their advance. Smashing the two generators that powered the energy barrier, both lombax and human continued deeper into the facility while fighting off a seemingly never-ending stream of green death crawling from every vent and gap in the narrow corridor's walls. The current tunnel terminated at a door secured with an Invinco-Lock and an open area to the immediate left. Considering what was still pursuing them, the duo took the obvious choice; slamming the button to lock the door once they were safely inside.

"See? That wasn't so tough," Ratchet opinioned.

"Just wait... till you see the big ones," Ellen shot back between gulping down sweet, sweet poison free air.

Catching their collective breaths, the human realised with a start that they were actually inside one of the asteroids that had been hollowed out and reinforced with metal struts that extended all the way from the depths below their platform to the ceiling above. The only other way out of here was an unfinished observation deck a good twenty feet up on their immediate right; which involved scaling the left over scaffolding to their far left while dodging past the oscillating, poison-spewing generators positioned around the unfinished floor sections of the room.

_'Wonderful.'_

Finally reaching the top, they managed to swing across the gap via Swingshot and Grapple Gun only to find themselves staring down the barrel of a hazmat trooper's primary weapon. Salvation came in the unexpected form of a cluster of mutant green amphibians leaping out of some shipping crates to attack the surprised blarg; Ratchet and Ellen slipping away into the next room while the aliens were going at each other and jamming the door shut behind them. Another containment field blocked the exit to the other side, but what caught their interest was the pair of heavily reinforced glass-covered pedestals against one wall; or rather what lay within.

"Is that...?" Ratchet began hesitantly.

Ellen grimaced. "Yeah, that's them alright."

Inside each specimen container was the sleeping form of the same mutant hybrid roach Ellen had previously encountered on the quarantined ship's bridge. Glad there was something between them and the armoured creatures, the lombax and human disabled the generators powering the force field only for the overhead lights to suddenly dim and flicker. With the sound of shattering glass, the two hybrids tore their way out of their respective prison and lunged at the morsels before them.

Remembering her previous encounter, Ellen immediately switched to her Bomb Glove before back-pedalling away from the snapping jaws intent on rending her apart. Ratchet meanwhile had found that though his Pyrocitor didn't do much external damage, it seemed to cook the creatures insides as his target keeled over with the burning stench of cooked meat. Turning his attention to the second, he witnessed one of Ellen's bombs blow off a limb and a good chunk of the carapace from the creature before it too finally expired; leaving the air bug free for the time being.

The corridor beyond was filled once again with a tide of the green amphibians which were promptly burned, bombed, or bludgeoned out of the way; leaving a sticky trail of green gunk in their wake. Finding themselves inside yet another hollowed out asteroid, the duo stepped past the body of a recently deceased blarg hazmat trooper and into what must have been the station's containment suite for the genetically altered creatures. Now though, the place was overrun; mutants of both kinds roaming free past the rent steel bars of their former pens and standing in the way of the force field secured exit on the far side of the two-tiered room. They hadn't been spotted yet and there was still no sign of any of the original personnel they hoped to find, leaving them to make a choice.

"Okay," Ratchet voiced aloud to his human partner. "How do you want to do this?"

A screech from one of the roaches followed by the collective mass of creatures charging them took the decision firmly out of their hands. The faster amphibians were on them in seconds and lasted just as long under the heat of Ratchet's flamethrower, keeping the smaller enemies at bay while Ellen concentrated upon the bigger threats with explosives in hand. Once the area was finally clear of it's previous residents, both lombax and human salvaged as much ammunition as they could from a security locker mounted on one wall before disabling the electrically charged barrier and moving on into a large, spherical room that looked like some kind of reactor housing.

More of the roach-like creatures stood penned in by a series of electric fences around the circular platform running around the interior; each powered by more of those yellow balls kept afloat in containment fields that would have to be shut down in order for them to progress further. Working anti-clockwise, the duo soon developed a pattern of disabling a fence with a well placed shot before bracketing the armoured mutants with bombs, or occasionally luring them into the still active fences. Passing the body of a fallen blarg hazmat trooper, Ratchet and Ellen soon found themselves stood outside a well armoured, but otherwise unlocked shutter-like door. Checking their weapons, they slipped inside only to find a strangely repurposed, hollowed out asteroid interior; the air thick with a low lying green mist that dropped visibility drastically, and strange creeper-like vines interwoven with glowing green veined eggs across the floor that was incredibly unsettling.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ellen whispered as she stepped closer to Ratchet while he nodded unconsciously in agreement; his eyes constantly checking for any movement around them.

An odd skittering sound, reminiscent of the noise the roaches made, came from above their heads. Looking up, the lombax and human barely dove out of the way as the biggest mutant bug either had ever seen slammed down where they had been stood a split-second before. Physically it looked like one of it's smaller brethren, only scaled up by ten and sporting a large, roughly triangular crest on it's head to complement the jutting lower jaw brimming with razor sharp teeth. With speed bellying it's size, the queen roach was upon them; her snapping jaws forcing the duo to split up and try to outflank the hulking beast. Sticking to the weapons that seemed to do the most damage before, Ratchet used his natural agility to get in close and burn the queen with his Pyrocitor while Ellen tried to keep it busy with sporadic bursts of her machine pistol; bombs being off the menu while the lombax was too close to the potential blast radius.

With a reverberating roar, the queen reared up on her hind legs and slammed down on to the metal decking; sending the pair flying from the shockwave and summoning a swarm of the mutant lizards in the process. Thankfully the head bug seemed to be content to hang back and recover while the smaller mutants assailed Ratchet and Ellen's position; flamethrower and Blaster scything them down in droves as the horde closed in. As soon as the last one dropped, the queen roach thundered in once again in an attempt to steamroller them. She seemed to focus on Ratchet as his Pyrocitor gave one last gout of flame before dying out, giving Ellen an opportunity to spam the armoured juggernaut with bombs until it changed targets and allowed the lombax to reply in kind.

Retreating once again, the queen roared her defiance before rearing up to attempt another power slam that was avoided thanks to the forewarning. The big bug must have been running out of friends, because only a pair of regular roaches came to her aid this time and were quickly brought down by a cluster of bombs. Infuriated at the loss of her children, the mutant monarch came in full bore while lashing out wildly at the two pests in her domain; relentlessly chasing the human and lombax down. Repeating their previous tactics, one distracted the giant bug while the other would attack from afar with explosives; swapping roles as it changed targets before repeating the process again. After another minute or so of this treatment, the queen gave one final mournful keen before slumping over dead; her once impregnable carapace shattered beyond repair and leaking ichor over the ravaged hive floor.

Stopping only to catch their breath, Ratchet and Ellen forced themselves to keep moving in order to leave the roach mother's final resting place as quickly as possible. Exiting via a door on the far side of the birthing chamber, a sudden cry of fear up ahead caused them to pick up the pace at the prospect of finding a survivor in this dead place. Storming down the corridor, a sharp right turn brought them into a storage area of sorts where one of those small cat-like alien scientists stood up on a crate leaning back against the wall; a gaggle of the frog-patterned lizards swarming at the base while occasionally leaping up at him with snapping jaws.

"Gah! S-stay back you... you fiends!"

With the creatures far too busy trying to get at their prey, they failed to notice the Omni-Wrench descending on their pack until it was too late. Wiping the gunk from his beloved weapon, Ratchet stepped up alongside Ellen with Clank at his side as the scientist breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, I thought I was a goner this time. Some _nano-wit_ in genetics must have left the cages open again."

"Are you alright, mister...?"

Ellen let the question hang as the cat-like boffin's features softened upon seeing her. "Bergstream, Fred Bergstream. I'm fine miss, just a little shook up. Last time I leave Gary in charge before I go on lunch."

The redhead was fairly certain she wasn't meant to hear the last part, but pressed on regardless. "My name's Ellen. My friends and I came to take a look at the job vacancies after we saw Chairman Drek's infobot commercial. Is he still around by any chance? We'd love to meet him." Almost all lies wrapped in a kernel of truth, but effective nevertheless for gaining the information they needed.

Fred snorted. "As if. The _esteemed_ patron of this facility would never deem to visit in person, and as for the jobs... I'd probably look a little further afield if I were you."

"Y'know, you can come down now," Ratchet drolly remarked.

The feline-featured scientist might have been a little offended by his attitude. "Honestly! A Gadget Engineer deserves a bit more respect if you ask me."

Clank's optics lit up as he entered the conversation. "So, you are an inventor?"

Fred frowned at the description as dropped down from the crate he was perched on before correcting the robot. "_Gadget Engineer._ I create revolutionary devices for Executive Chairman Drek. For instance..." He reached behind his back and somehow pulled out a pair of red metallic boots with distinct black wedges on the heels and near the front. "Viola! My soon to be patented Grind Boots." Ratchet raised a brow in curiosity but otherwise said nothing as Fred's shoulders slumped. "Look, I need to get out of here so I can find a new job. How about I sell you these? At cost?"

"_Sell?!_ After we just saved your _scrawny butt?_"

Ratchet clearly wasn't amused, but before Ellen could step in, the engineer relented. "Alright, alright. I'll give you the employee discount too."

One short transaction later and Ratchet was the proud owner of a pair of shiny new Grind Boots while Fred said his goodbyes. "Well, thanks. I'm gonna get outta here while I still can." Pausing at the threshold of the doorframe, he turned to regard them one last time with a winkled nose. "You might want to use the decon units in the visitors entrance before you leave. No offence, but you kind of smell." With that, the now unemployed scientist left via a small shuttle docked on the other side of the room while Ratchet inspected the high-tech footwear.

"Well at least you've finally got a pair of shoes so you don't have to go barefoot all the time, but how do we get back to the ship?" The answer lay beyond the other door, and Ellen knew from the grin on the lombax's face that she would probably regret the answer.

{()}

"WOOOOOO! This is so _awesome!_"

Ellen had to admit from her position sat upon the excitable lombax's shoulders that sliding down a thin metal track with only a transparent glass tunnel protecting them from the cold vacuum of space was actually pretty fun once she had gotten over her initial surge of terror. The grind rail meandered around the perimeter of the facility, taking a weaving path through a cluster of stationary asteroids and giving a clear view of the nearby planets, as well as the rest of the research station at large. All too soon their impromptu ride came to an end with the sudden termination of the rail, catapulting the trio out of the tunnel exit and back into the station's docking bay.

Disentangling themselves from the heap they had landed in, Ellen let out a delighted laugh as she sat back on her rear. "You know what? That was actually pretty fun! Shame we can't do it again."

Ratchet grinned as he dusted himself off. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Still, maybe there's some rails we could grind in Blackwater City."

Clank looked confused as his head turned from one organic to another. "Blackwater City? On Rilgar? Why are we going there?"

Ellen laid a reassuring hand on the minute machine's shoulder before walking him back to the ship. "We managed to find a lead on Qwark's location earlier, I'll explain on the way."

One brief chemical shower later and the trio mounted up back in the courier ship once more; soon clearing the docking bay and leaving the dead space station far behind as they made their way to Rilgar. Hopefully Qwark would be there and willing to help deal with the blarg threat; the consequences of not securing his aid didn't bear thinking about if the galaxy was to survive.

* * *

**Getting back in to the groove. The boss fight felt a bit shorter than I wanted to make it, but then again to drag it out would be boring.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	9. Chapter 9: Hoverboards & Heroes

**Author****'****s note:**

**You know, it never ceases to amaze me that at least one person is viewing this story every day since I published the first chapter if the traffic stats are anything to go by. Never in a million years did I think it would be so popular, I can****'****t begin to express how damn happy you****'****ve all made me.**

**I know this is a chapter that some of you have been waiting to see for a while now, considering we finally get to see some hover boarding at last. To be honest, I did originally think about skipping over it since it proved to be such a major pain to write. But in the end I persevered, and though it doesn****'****t quite seem right to me, I****'****ve had to make do in order to (barely) meet my scheduled update.**

**Review replies:**

**BulletWitch1985 - I did kind of have a Resident Evil vibe going when I wrote the chapter, having just started playing number 2 again from scratch, and I think it kind of leaked into the chapter a bit. I****'****m trying to make their romance grow steadily; a number of stories I****'****ve read jump the characters relationships ahead way too quickly and otherwise spoil a decent tale. They****'****ve actually already met Helga (see chapter 6) though they didn****'****t know her name at the time, and Qwark is finally coming up in this chapter. Sparks will most certainly fly.**

**I feel sorry for you guys, cleaning up is never fun; especially when it****'****s someone else****'****s mess. Unfortunately, there are no Lilo &amp; Stitch x Ratchet &amp; Clank crossovers on this site, but I could definitely see the potential of one with the right plot underlining if you wanted to have a crack at it. Two sets of mismatched heroes on a roller coaster ride of adventure across the cosmos sounds like a lot of fun. Let me know if anything comes of it, I****'****d be happy to try and assist where I could though my knowledge of Lilo &amp;Stitch is some what lacking.**

**destiny - Thank you my consistently reviewing friend, I will endeavour to keep up to your expectations.**

**TheMounainandTheVolcano - Ah, a new reviewer! And yes you****'****re right, there aren****'****t that many stories based on the original games for some reason. I****'****m trying to keep to a regular schedule of updating every Sunday or Monday, and (fingers crossed) haven****'****t missed an update yet. Personally, I like Ratchet for his personality and can-do attitude regardless of how bad a situation gets. That and I****'****m a bit of a cat person myself probably contributes.**

**Welcome and salutations to Nicb1 and niksatter82 for favouriting and following along with TheMounainandTheVolcano as well as the usual posse of avid readers. Thank you all.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Whew, barely made it on time, but here****'****s chapter 9. Hope you enjoy.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 9: **

**Hoverboards &amp; Heroes**

* * *

**Blackwater City, Rilgar**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**1:35pm local time**

Landing on Rilgar was one thing; getting to Qwark however would be an entirely different matter.

With over 80% of the surface covered by water, living space on the perpetually dark planet was at a premium; thus leading to the construction of several sprawling island cities whenever enough land could be found. Blackwater City was among the largest of these constantly lit beacons of civilisation on an otherwise dreary and dangerous world. The towering spires and squat, more utilitarian buildings along the coast and distant spaceport could not be more different from the grand decor of Metropolis. Preferring a more subdued palette of steel greys and silvers, the thriving city was adorned with enough spotlights and illuminations to be seen directly from orbit.

Unfortunately, with the hoverboard competition and a combined curfew-come-quarantine in effect due to the amoeboid infestation, no traffic would be allowed inside city airspace other than the gunships enforcing the no fly zone. So it was with understandable annoyance that Ratchet had to set the courier ship down on a small coral encrusted islet off the coast of the city in an area previously slated for expansion; several pontoon boats, girders, and half finished dockside buildings leaving a breadcrumb-like trail back into the city from which they had originated. It was here that the team had to make a decision, for though they knew Qwark would most likely be at the competition or at least nearby, they had no idea where exactly it was being held. Their only routes into the city now was either by leapfrogging through the abandoned structures on the coast to their right, or directly inside the sewer system and water treatment plant immediately in front.

"I think we're gonna have to split up for this one," Ratchet voiced aloud. "There's just too much ground to cover. At least this way, one of us has a chance to get to Qwark before it's too late."

Ellen nodded in thought before considering her choice. On one hand, sewers tend to be distinctly unpleasant and waterlogged; but on the other hand, the building on the island directly to her right had a freaking tank parked inside, the turret rotating back and forth in search of targets. Option 'A' it was then. After restocking on ammo at a vendor that was inexplicably dumped on their islet landing zone, the team went their separate ways; Ellen heading off towards a small dock leading towards the sewer outlet while Ratchet and Clank bounded over an abandoned pontoon boat and onto the small island containing an unfinished warehouse. Turning back to watch her one last time, the lombax sucked in a breath while praying internally for the human's safe return. After that little stunt on the blarg space station he'd wanted to keep her close, but ultimately knew that she was capable and that this was the best course of action with the limited time they had.

"You are worried about her well being."

It was a statement, not a question. One that gave the lombax pause as he watched Ellen use her Grapple Gun to swing across the shark infested waters onto a pontoon boat before doing the same again on a series of Versa-Targets, finally disappearing into the sewer itself. He shuffled uneasily at revealing any weakness to the sentient machine on his back, even if he'd come to accept him a little more as a result of their travels so far. "A little. Maybe. But she'll be _fine!_ It's not like she's gonna have to face _that_ down there."

Following Ratchet's gesture to the tracked armoured vehicle that even now was attempting to orient itself to face the intruders, Clank nodded cordially even though it couldn't be seen as he replied. "Indeed, the likeliness of Ellen facing major opposition is significantly lower than our own, given the large hostile presence we appear to be attracting."

Ratchet said nothing however, busy as he was dealing with the tank. Fortunately - or not, depending on your perspective - the vehicle's turret spewed a corrosive green gas rather than high explosive shells in a wide swathe, but was lightly armoured and definitely vulnerable to his Bomb Glove. A few hits and a ruptured fuel line later, the tank was reduced to a smouldering wreck; the pilot knocked out with the lombax's wrench before he exited the other side of the building and used Clank's Heli-Pack upgrade to hop across another pontoon boat and onto the shore of Blackwater City.

{()}

Upon landing inside the pipe leading to the city's waterworks Ellen chanced a last look back at Ratchet; feeling a little guilty at making him take the harder route of the two, but confident that the short statured fur ball of destruction would prevail nevertheless. At the end of the pipe there was a small service lift that led to a surprisingly clean and well kept water treatment plant; immediately in front of which was a small balcony with a faucet that overlooked a pool of water bordered by a durable metal sluice gate. Looking at the tube-like faucet gave Ellen pause before pulling out the Hydrodisplacer Ratchet had passed on to her during their journey to Rilgar, citing the need to free up some space on his Quick Select.

Inserting the nozzle of the device into the faucet caused the pool to slowly drain with a gurgling sound, and the Hydrodisplacer to bulge and swell slightly as it filled with the compressed equivalent of around 500 gallons of water. Hopping down into the now ankle deep water, Ellen sloshed across to the other side and climbed up a ledge onto the sluice gate with the aid of her Grapple Gun. Another faucet, this one set into the floor, allowed the redhead to empty the Hydrodisplacer and transfer the contained water into the empty pit below; bringing it level with a large outlet pipe on the other side.

Dropping into the water, Ellen momentarily shuddered at the cool water before swimming across to the man-sized pipe on the far side and hauling herself up. Following the claustrophobic tunnel, her Versa Blade proved its worth by slicing through a pair of metal grates that blocked her path; at the far side of which was another faucet overlooking a pool, making her wonder how anyone actually managed to perform any maintenance down here if they had to negotiate an obstacle course just to get by. Once the pool was drained, Ellen hopped up into a previously flooded pipe near the bottom and continued to move forward. After carving through the grate at the end, she found herself in a dead end circular room filled with only knee high water. Looking up, realisation dawned as she could see the lip of the pool and hints of a walkway a good twenty feet above her with no noticeable hand holds in sight.

She briefly considered refilling the pool and swimming back through and up, before realising she had an easier option. With a brief pop and the whirring of cable, the hook of Ellen's Grapple Gun dug into the ceiling between the lighting above. Being more used to the sudden arm wrenching acceleration with each subsequent use of the device, the human pulled herself up and used her initial momentum to pendulum swing across to the walkway that surrounded the room. The only way out was via a partially caved in door way framing an excavated tunnel that contrasted vastly with the surrounding polished steel environment. Realising this was her best bet, Ellen slowly began descending the sharply sloping tunnel only for the dirt beneath her to crumble and send her sliding to the bottom.

Landing on solid steel plating, even with the cushioning effect of ankle deep water, still hurt like hell. Staggering to her feet, the once again soaked human rubbed her aching arse while taking a look around at where she'd ended up this time. This had to be an older part of the sewage system; the grates in the tiny room clogged with slimy seaweed and illuminated only by flickering dim lighting. With no way back, the only route left was a sealed hydraulic door with a glowing orange pressure plate set in front of it.

_'I really don't want to press this. Something bad's bound to happen, I just know it.'_ Sighing with resignation, Ellen gingerly stepped on the plate, causing it to depress and turn green with a dull electronic hum. The hydraulic doors slowly began to part, but not before hundreds of gallons of water began to pour into the room from the overflow pipes above.

"See? I bloody knew it!" Squeezing through the gap in the still opening doors, Ellen pushed herself as hard as she could; wading through the rising water as she desperately sought to stay ahead of the liquid death. She could only hope to find an exit before the inevitable tide caught up and drowned her.

{()}

Either the armoured clean up crew couldn't tell a lombax from an amoeboid, or they simply had orders to kill every organic on sight. One way or another, they weren't making Ratchet's life any easier as they charged him with their corrosive weapons blazing. He had been surprised when a five man squad had jumped him as soon as he entered the first storage shed on the shoreline, but quickly recovered his wits in time to avoid being melted by the overzealous soldiers. Cartwheeling to one side, Ratchet tossed a bomb into their midst that took out a majority of the tightly packed unit before cracking the survivors skulls with his wrench. Running up the stairs out the back, he realised that the outbreak must have been more serious than any of them had realised; the entire coastal area looking like it had been evacuated and squads of those black and yellow clad troopers patrolling all over.

"I suggest we avoid combat as much as possible. The sooner we reach the Captain, the better."

Ratchet couldn't help but agree with Clank as he hit the switch to raise a powered down hydraulic bridge and jogged over to meet the clean up crew guarding the other side. He found himself wishing Ellen was here to lend some ranged support since his own complement of weapons tended towards the close quarter variety; something he'd have to fix sooner than not. The enemy squad opened up when he was three parts of the way across, attempting to drive him off the bridge with their combined fire. The lombax merely sent a few explosive shaped surprises their way; using the enclosed environment against their numbers as they were caught between the bombs and the surrounding buildings. Reaching the other side, he punched the button for the elevator leading to the upper areas of the docklands and caught his first glimpse of one of the amoeboid said to be plaguing the city.

Had Ellen been there, she would have best described it as a giant green turd with solid yellow eyes, a gaping mouth, and a pair of stubby arms. Basically, Jabba the Hutt's poorer cousin. Upon spotting the lombax, the amoeboid began trailing it's way towards him, only to explode into green gunk when it was hit with a gout of concentrated flame. Just as he was about to move on, Ratchet froze upon hearing a squelching noise; his brows raising in surprise at the now two, slightly smaller amoeboids rising up and bearing down on him. It was at this moment that a pair of trooper squads poured out of the surrounding storage sheds before engaging the gooey green creatures head on, with even more crawling out of gaps in the buildings to join the fray. In the ensuing chaos, Ratchet managed to slip away; diving into the nearest warehouse and weaving through the crates to an abandoned air cab parked at the end facing the sea.

Climbing aboard, Ratchet let Clank interface with the controls to trace the taxi's last destination before inputting the coordinates. With a faint rumble, the automated vehicle took off and flew low over the downtown areas of the city; the lombax clearly able see pitched battles taking place in the streets below between the armoured exterminators and the constantly regenerating swathes of amoeboids in isolated pockets before the cab began to descend onto one such street on the east side of the city. Hopping down from the hacked cab, Ratchet quickly realised that the soon to be victorious trooper team would be coming for him next once they had polished off the remaining amoeboids, and that tank parked at the end of the street didn't look too friendly either. Looking at the various trash and debris scattered around however gave him an idea on how to target the soldiers from a greater distance.

Pulling out the Suck Cannon, the lombax went to town on hoovering up as much potential ordinance as possible just as he had finally been spotted. The closest soldier was sent sprawling by a high velocity trash can hitting him centre mass, his companions being hit by a half road sign and fire hydrant respectively. Another pair of troopers emerged from further down the street before almost being bisected by a flying manhole cover; leaving no more immediate targets and the Suck Cannon completely empty. Turning his attention back to the exterminator tank trundling towards him, Ratchet ducked behind a parked air car and waited until the vehicle had passed by in its search for him before leaping up and slinging bombs at the exposed rear. A muted explosion almost tore the tank in half as it slewed to a halt, flames licking from the turret's hatch while the lombax decided to make himself scarce.

Before he could get too far though, a shady voice drew his attention to an alleyway on his right. "Psst! Hey you, over here"

With a shared look and a shrug at Clank, Ratchet cautiously stepped closer to the alley until he could see a trench coat wearing, green lizard-like alien with a red visor concealing his eyes; almost physically similar to Skid in appearance, but not quite. "RYNO for your robot. Trade ya."

Ratchet looked contemplative for a moment before replying. "Well... okay!"

Clank was unsurprisingly not amused. "Ratchet! How could you?!"

The lombax held his hands up placatingly. "I'm kidding!" Turning back to the shady guy, he continued. "Sorry, he's not for sale. And what's a 'RYNO' anyway?"

"Rip Ya a New One."

Bristling, Ratchet narrowed his eyes at the salesman. "What did you just say to me?"

he alien in question sighed before explaining. "R-Y-N-O. Rip Ya a New One."

"Why, that's the most powerful missile launcher in the galaxy!" Clank exclaimed. "I know it is worth a lot of bolts. He must have stolen it from the blarg!"

The salesman's eyes narrowed behind his visor while his lips curled up in to a snarl. "_Stolen?!_ Look trash can, did I says anything about it being hot? You'd better watch your mouth or I'll-"

"Wait, don't tell me," Ratchet smirked. "'Rip Ya a New One'."

Considering the eye watering amount of bolts the black market trader wanted, the duo had to decline his offer for the time being while they made their way to the end of the street and to a locked down elevator shaft guarded by a pair of exterminators, who apparently weren't fireproof when doused with a Pyrocitor. As the two rode the elevator up to their next stop, Ratchet found himself glad that Ellen had taken the route she had.

_'After all, it can't be any more dangerous than up here.'_

{()}

There were several things jostling for position in Ellen's mind as she ran; fear, panic, a sense of self preservation. But chief among them was anger; not so much at her self, but rather at the circumstances surrounding her current situation. _'What is it with me and buttons? First one nearly blows me up, now another's trying to drown me! What did I do to deserve this?!'_

After finally sloshing out of the rising water, the redhead managed to gain a few yards to sprint and hadn't stopped since. Weaving around a quartet of water condensers, she leapt up out of the trench she was briefly occupying and sped up a ramp to her immediate left. Risking a quick glance, Ellen found that the water would need to fill the pool below in order to reach her elevated position; thus buying her some precious time. Breathing heavily, she continued at a breakneck pace over the weaving walkway; conscious of the rapidly rising tide and the few small amoeboids that blocked her path. As she ducked round one of the green creature's snapping maw, she idly noted that they seemed to disintegrate on contact with water, but had no time to dwell on it since her walkway had just run out.

Firing her Grapple Gun at the service tunnel on the far side of the room to her right, Ellen instantly retracted the cable as soon as the claw bit into the steel and reeled herself in at maximum speed. Despite her arm throbbing with pain from the sudden acceleration, the human forced her tired body to continue as she stumbled and clambered her way up the ramp. The water had finally caught up and already enveloped her ankles as she crested the ridge, only for her heart to sink upon realising that not only did the ramp lead downwards, but it too was filled with rapidly rising water. With no other choice, Ellen swam out as far as she could and inhaled as much air as possible before taking the plunge. Trying to swim with hiking boots on is no mean feat, but she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to survive.

Her lungs greedily took in air as soon as she hit the surface of the still rising water near a ladder on the opposite end of the tunnel, climbing it as swiftly as possible to a higher level. Dodging past a few scattered amoeboids, Ellen leapt across broken sections of walkway with a series of leaping bounds; but even her speed and agility couldn't keep her ahead of the unstoppable flood for long. The water level was a scant few feet from the ceiling by the time she managed to cross the room, forcing her to dive once again into the cold depths. The tunnel was long; far too long. Darkness began to encroach the human's vision even as her oxygen starved lungs burned with need, but still she forced herself to keep moving. She wanted to live so badly; to see her family and friends again, including a certain robot and lombax who had been at the forefront of her thoughts for some time now.

Ellen didn't know what to make of these errant fragments in her head; but if she ever wanted to act upon them, she desperately needed to reach the end. Just as it seemed like her luck had finally run out, a final kick propelled the human above the surface of her watery prison. Flopping onto the surface of a metal ramp, Ellen resembled a gaping fish as she coughed up water while trying to breathe. To her, the stagnant sewer air was probably one of the sweetest things she had ever tasted in a long time; her eyes closing as she thanked God for her miraculous survival. Once her heart rate had returned to something resembling normal, Ellen dragged herself upright and trudged to the nearby service elevator with waterlogged boots; leaving a trail of sewer water in her wake. Slumping against the wall as the lift slowly took her out of the underground labyrinth, she could only hope that Ratchet was having better luck than she was.

{()}

After battling his way through an underground section of the city's foundations, Ratchet rode the service elevator up to the surface only to find a series of laser security fences blanketing an area choked with even more amoeboids and exterminators in isolated pockets. Rolling his eyes with a sigh, he tentatively stepped on the pressure plate in front of the nearest fence to deactivate it and began his run through the maze. It wasn't quite as bad as it looked, with the lombax's route taking a wide path that avoided the largest concentrations of enemies. Nevertheless, it still resulted in a few particularly tense close range fights against the green replicators and the armoured clean up crews that were swiftly resolved with the application of his flamethrower. Finally reaching the other side of the laser grid, Ratchet found himself confronted with another tank trundling along a raised roadway that overlooked the area and no obvious way to get up to it.

The answer however came from an unexpected source; for it seemed that problems with the city's waterworks had generated a build up of pressure, which caused the manhole covers in the local area to be borne aloft by a jet of compressed steam at regular intervals. Taking advantage, Ratchet waited for the pressure to rebuild under the nearest metal plate before riding it to the apex and surprising the hell out of the tank crew below him. Before they could bring the main gun to bear, a cluster of bombs shredded the vehicle's armour as the lombax somersaulted overhead before landing in a crouch. A second tank rumbled out of the entrance from where the first had come, forcing Ratchet on the defensive as it spewed forth its corrosive chemical mix. Diving off the edge of the roadway, he tucked into a roll before riding another manhole cover up to outflank the cumbersome machine.

A dose of bombs later and Ratchet was on his way, making his way down a winding corridor that led to yet another elevator; this one finally terminating at a tiled plaza decorated with glowing blue lighting and pink cherry blossom trees arranged in a circle. A quartet of screens streaming live footage hovered above on a jet assisted platform, while clusters of photographers and news camera crews congregated on the far side of the plaza. The reason became apparent as one air car limousine or bling ridden SUV after another drew up and deposited what almost looked like Skid clones considering their species and choice of attire. These it would seem were the celebrity contenders for the hoverboard competition, who continued to revel in the limelight as cameras flashed, reporters fired off questions, and bodyguards steered their errant charges away from the press.

Skirting around the gathered crowd, Ratchet caught a glimpse of movement in a nearby building that bordered the plaza. Moving to investigate, he noted the slumped bodies of a few exterminators in one corner of the room before his gaze swept towards-

"BLEUGH!"

The lombax gave an undignified, and very girlish, shriek of terror that would forever be denied for as long as he lived at the sudden looming presence jumping out at him. Scrabbling away on his backside with his heart firmly lodged in his throat, it took a few seconds for Ratchet to register that the apparition was not a swamp monster, but a very familiar and thoroughly drenched human girl. "Told you I'd get you back"

Her laughter didn't help his ego or his dignity one bit, his cheeks flushed with a combination of anger and embarrassment. "What is _wrong_ with you?! You scared the hell out of me! I could have shot you!"

Ellen's shoulders shook involuntarily, leaning against a wall as she laughed herself hoarse. "You screamed like a little girl!"

"I did not!"

"Actually, I believe the pitch of your voice rose to levels that could be mistaken as feminine." Clank's anecdote sent Ellen into an uncontrollable giggling fit, while the lombax scowled at the implication.

"Thanks a bunch, pal" Turning his attention back the human, Ratchet noticed for the first time that she was completely soaking wet through from head to toe, and her continued laughter seemed to verge more on the hysterical relief end of the spectrum. "Ellen, what happened to you? Why do you look like a drowned rat?"

She quickly sobered up, her features turning solemn. "Because I nearly did drown. Those sewers are a freaking death trap."

While Ellen recounted what had happened to her in his absence, both lombax and human tried to wring her wet clothing out as much as possible. Taking off her shirt to wring it out better, Ratchet averted his eyes while holding Ellen close; sharing his body heat and keeping her warm while she worked. Once they had done what they could, the three made their way back into the now much quieter plaza and approached the centre, where the most human-like alien Ellen had yet seen stood waving off one of the hoverboarders who had arrived before turning her attention towards them.

"Welcome to the Hovercon intergalactic hoverboarding competition!" Despite the rather revealing purple, skin-tight spandex outfit, the curvaceous competition hostess could easily have passed for human If it weren't for the light green-tinged skin, the exceptionally dark turquoise eyes, and the wrong number of fingers on her hands. Ellen wasn't sure if the ridged dome jutting from her skull was purely cosmetic or actually part of the woman's head, but dismissed it as irrelevant as the hostess continued to speak. "Captain Qwark's giving away a brand new Platinum Zoomerator to the winner of this competition!"

"A Platinum Zoomerator!" Clank exclaimed. "Perhaps that will be the proof of your accomplishments that Skid's agent requires."

The woman paused for a heartbeat with narrowed eyes, her hands held up in a halting motion. "Wait, do you guys mean Skid McMarx?"

Ellen shrugged. "We've met."

Ratchet however was trying to play it cool. "Yeah, Skid couldn't make it, so we're here to... you know, fill in for him."

The competition hostess placed her hands on her hips, raising a questioning brow while a wry smile tugged at her lips. "Guess we'll see about that. Which one of you is competing? We only have a single slot left for the race."

After exchanging glances between them, Ellen spoke up. "It'll have to be you, Ratchet. You've got the most experience out of all of us."

Clank nodded in agreement. "You are the most statistically likely to succeed. Should you win, you may be able to gain the attention of the Captain"

"And that should make it easier to get to Qwark," Ratchet finished. "Alright, where do I sign up?"

While Ratchet went through the process of registering for Skid's position in the event, Ellen and Clank found a park bench from which they could observe the hovering HV screens showing the action. From what the human could glean from asking around and looking it up online, the hoverboard competition was actually a straight race rather than a contest of tricks and scores as she had expected based upon what she knew of the skating equivalent on Earth. That said, the course was a multi-tiered affair with several jumps, gaps, and ramps interspersed with magna-strips that would provide a temporary speed boost for the racers who rode over them. The circuit itself was suspended over the west bay area of Blackwater City, and took the form of a rough square shape broken up by sweeping S-curves and an ascending U-turn near the end of the lap.

Looking up, Ellen saw Ratchet stood in front of her; taking his hoverboard from Clank and giving them one last look. "Well, this is it. Wish me luck."

She smiled encouragingly. "You'll be alright fuzz ball, just try not to ride that thing into the drink."

He rolled his eyes while smirking good naturedly. "As if. See you guys at the award ceremony."

With a final set of goodbyes, the lombax took an officially designated air cab down to the track while the remaining two members of their little team settled in to wait. "You think he'll be alright?"

Clank nodded in answer to the redhead's question. "I am positive. Ratchet might be somewhat... reckless at times, but I am confident that he will not do anything life threatening. This time."

Privately, he considered the human's concern for the lombax. Both organics actions had indistinct hints of courtship behaviour that he had catalogued in his memory banks, and yet they often acted like bickering children from his perspective. Most curious; this would warrant further study. Settling back on the bench, both robot and human sat with mounting tension as the racers lined up under starters orders.

{()}

"...and at the back of the grid is a late entry all the way from planet Veldin; Ratchet the lombax! Gentlemen, start your grav-drives!"

Ratchet looked distinctly out of place among the much taller green lizard like competition but didn't let it phase him in the slightest as he set his board down and mounted it, the anti-gravity repulsor units whirring into life and causing it to float three inches off of the track as the announcer counted down. "Three! Two! One! GO!"

The other hoverboarders took off like a rocket, leaving the stunned lombax lagging behind in last place. Quickly refocusing, he ran over a magna-strip and used the temporary speed boost to accelerate around the first corner. Catching sight of the nearest competitor, Ratchet followed him up a ramp to the left of the track; catching some air and hitting another magna-strip before dropping into a sharp right hand turn with a two-tiered route. Taking the high road once again, the lombax slowly began to gain ground as he hit every speed boosting strip in sight while jumping from one short platform to the next. Just as he rounded the next right, the road ran out and he dropped back down to ground level just behind the nearest hoverboarder.

A slight S-curve ended in a sharp left and a boost pad leading to a massive jump, which sent Ratchet soaring with a shout of glee over the rest of the thirty foot stretch; his board sending up sparks as it hit the ground on the shallow incline leading up to the next corner. Cutting the inside as he took the ascending U-turn, he overtook another racer and moved into third place just as the track levelled out into a short S-curve ending on the start/finish straight. ignoring the ramp to the left of the track, Ratchet rode the dip on the straightaway across the line and into the second lap. Tucking in behind the hoverboarder immediately in front, the lombax used the slipstream of his larger rival to catapult himself into second place just as he reached the first corner again.

Hitting the magna-strips as he went, Ratchet took the same route back over the left hand ramp on the long straightaway; sheer speed allowing him to almost clear the whole section in a single jump. He stuck to the same route as before once he rounded the next corner, boosting along the high route and hopping between the platforms leading up to the next right hand turn. It was here however that his luck seemed to run short; his last slightly misjudged jump ended up with his board clipping the edge of the platform and sending the lombax plummeting off the edge to slam face down on the track below. The impact knocked the air from his lungs while spots danced in front of his eyes, but Ratchet staggered to his feet nevertheless. Shaking his head to clear out the cobwebs, he soon located his board nearby and got it moving again; but not before being overtaken and sent almost to the back of the pack once again.

Determined, Ratchet chased after the other racers renewed vigour; opting to stay on the low route through the S-curve leading up to the long stretch with the massive air inducing ramp, which was ignored this time in favour of building velocity close to the ground. As he approached the incline leading to the U-turn, Ratchet noted with surprise that several amoeboids had some how found their way onto the track and were meandering around aimlessly. Weaving between them, the lombax hit another magna-strip and boosted up the ascent and following S-curve; quickly finding himself on the lower route leading back across the start/finish line and into the final lap.

There was no more time, and Ratchet knew he would have to go all out in order to win. To that end, he drafted the racer in front before slipping into third once again; hunching low around the next corner and taking the low lying route on the long straightaway. Hitting the three magna-strips that lined the track in sequence, the lombax hit a small ramp just before the sharp right turn at the end and used the air time to cut out a fair chunk of the corner. Landing on the upper section of two-tiered route, he boosted across the small platforms at the end but skipped the last one in order to bring himself in tighter to the next turn. Landing on the lower level of the track, the lombax quickly switched to the higher route once again as he negotiated the sweeping S-curve that led to the massive air inducing ramp; leaving another racer in the dust as he again ignored the ramp in favour of gaining speed on the magna-strips along the track just before the U-turn incline.

Only one more hoverboarder stood before him and victory, and Ratchet could just catch glimpses of the race leader as he exited the U-turn and sped through the following S-curve at the top. The final stretch lay before him, and the man to beat was booking it a scant ten feet in front. Ducking into his slipstream, Ratchet grimaced with determination as he crept closer; every second bringing the two racers closer to the finishing line. Inch by agonising inch, the lombax drew nearer until he suddenly made his move.

Pulling alongside, the other hoverboarder briefly twitched an eye towards him but otherwise remained focused upon the goal ahead. The distance wound down rapidly as the two jockeyed for position; each trying to edge ahead of the other. At the last possible second, Ratchet spied a magna-strip and slightly altered course to tag it; the resulting speed boost being just what he needed to give him the edge as he crossed the finish line barely inches ahead of his frustrated rival. Letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, Ratchet smiled and waved to the cameras as he cruised around the circuit for his victory lap. It had been so close, but he'd managed to pull through by a hair. He could only hope Ellen had seen just how awesome he was.

{()}

"You did it!"

No sooner had Ratchet stepped off the air cab when he suddenly found himself embraced by the girl he'd come to think about so much with Clank standing by her side. "Indeed, your last second triumph was most extraordinary."

The lombax gave a lazy smile towards the little robot as he wrapped a free arm around Ellen's waist, the other still carrying his hoverboard. "Yeah, I'm awesome like that." He ignored the slug on the arm and the mirthful 'cocky shite' from the red-headed girl as the three turned to face the floating monitors over the plaza; the gurning mug of Captain Qwark filling the screens.

"Hi folks, Captain Qwark here. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce this year's Hovercon intergalactic champions! Let's give it up for newcomers-" A monochrome snapshot of Ratchet and Clank that looked like it had been taken from a surveillance camera briefly lit up the screens, with a robotic voice announcing their names. Ellen raised a brow at not being included but shrugged it off. She didn't win the race, and as long as they got to see Qwark she honestly didn't care.

"Hey look, that's us!" Ratchet pointed excitedly, though he too quickly realised that Ellen had been excluded when Clank hadn't.

"Today's winners will take home a brand new, professional grade, model T-15 Platinum Zoomerator! Manufactured by Gadgetron, this hoverboard drive delivers more lift, speed and manoeuvrability than any other anti-grav device on the market!" As Qwark spoke, the purple clad competition hostess glamorously showed off the device to the rolling cameras and flash photography from the surrounding journalists before slipping it into Ratchet's hands. The few members of the public present cheering in unison with that piped through the hovering screens.

"Well folks, that's all the time we have," the spandex clad hero continued. "Tonight, remember to set your infobots to the Qwark Classic channel for tonight's episode of 'Dogfight over Death Canyon' - starring yours truly. Thank you, and have a _Qwarktastic _day!"

With the fickle media quickly losing interest in the unknown trio in favour of mobbing the celebrity hoverboarders who had just shown up, Ratchet, Ellen and Clank melted in to the crowds and disappeared towards the edge of the plaza. "Well Qwark didn't show in person, now how do we find him?"

Before Clank could reply to Ratchet's question, Ellen cut in with a thoughtful look. "I think I might have an idea. Remember that building where I scared the shit out of you?" She carried on when the lombax did nothing more than scowl. "Well before I got there, there was this trailer surrounded by photographers with a big tattooed novalian guy stood out front guarding the place. Odds are, that's where Qwark would be."

The two males shared a glance before collectively shrugging; after all, it was worth a shot. Skirting around the plaza, they made their way through the building in question before emerging into what would probably constitute a small parking lot for air cars. Right now though, the only occupants were a glorified truck with the cargo area replaced by a fair-sized living quarters and a scowling mountain of dark-green tattooed muscle wearing black boots, jeans with chains hanging off the belt, and a tank top emblazoned with a red-eyed skull standing in front with his arms crossed. Seeing the press had gone elsewhere, the three approached Qwark's trailer only to be stopped in their tracks by the bouncer.

"Hey, hey, hey! Press conference is over! Captain Qwark don't want no more reporters bugging him in his trailer!"

"Oh... you see, my friends and I need to speak to the Captain about a matter of galactic security." Ellen rolled her eyes at the lombax's words. As if a million other people hadn't already tried that line and failed.

The bouncer glared at them with his meaty fists set on his hips. "You mean you and your walking camera? You paparazzi make me sick! Now beat it!"

Clank looked up at the novalian with wide optics as he tried to appeal to his better nature. "But sir, I am sure that Captain Qwark will understand once we-"

The heavy snorted before shaking his head in dismissal. "No, no, save it. I know how it works. You convince me to let you in. You snap a picture of the captain in his underwear..." Ellen blanched at the image; the lombax and robot exchanging questioning glances while the bouncer continued his tirade. "Then, you sell the picture to the info-tabloids for a million bolts!"

"You got it all wrong!" Ratchet exclaimed, only for the thick set bouncer to ignore him.

"Meanwhile, _I'm_ stuck here making six bolts an hour, _and_ I have to listen to a lecture from that cheapskate Qwark! So you don't get in unless I get a kickback. _In advance!_"

Ellen begrudged the hefty bribe, but went halves with Ratchet anyway. She only wished she didn't have to look at the smug expression on the hulking novalian's face as he stepped aside. "You see how it works? you grease the hinges, the door opens."

The interior of the trailer was surprisingly sparse for such a big time celebrity hero like Qwark; the only outstanding feature in the all metal construct being the occupied sun bed on one side, upon which a large figure could be seen snoozing with his hands behind his head. "Captain... Qwark?"

"Whozzat?!" the now fully awake self-professed hero articulated as he jolted upright with surprise at Clank's hesitant words; his gaze snapping towards the three intruders in his personal sanctum.

"It's Ratchet, Clank, and Ellen, Captain!" the lombax clarified. "You know, from the-"

"Oh, yes, yes, I know who you are."

"You...do?" Ellen queried with a raised brow; Qwark hopping off of the bed and stepping towards them, easily towering over all present with his ridiculously buff physique.

_'Christ... He's a lot bigger in real life...'_

"Yes, and thank the Galaxy you found me," the hero continued before lowering his voice and leaning in conspiratively. "There's an awful plot being hatched to destroy our planets!"

Clank threw his hands up in the air. "Ratchet, he knows!"

The lombax merely rolled his eyes. "_Great._ Does that mean we can go hoverboarding now?"

Ellen's icy blue orbs however narrowed in thought. "If that's the case, then how come you're sat on your arse here presenting a hoverboarding competition rather than doing something about it?"

Something about this guy just rubbed her up the wrong way; especially when he completely ignored her and carried on with his blasé attitude. "My friends, we're all in grave danger. And I believe that _together,_ we can put a stop to this madness."

"Together? You mean... you want our help?" Ratchet responded with surprise.

Qwark leaned back on one leg while cupping his chin, his expression dead serious. "Look, Ratchet, I've been keeping an eye on you, and I've never seen anyone with such raw talent. You are a true hero in the making."

_'And what are the rest of us? Chopped liver?'_

Ellen knew Clank didn't have a resentful bolt in his body, and she honestly didn't give a damn about being a 'hero', but the fact that Qwark was seemingly trying to break up their team by singling out the lombax really started to get on her nerves. The only thing stopping her from laying into him was the fact that they still needed Qwark, and despite coming off as a bit of a dick, he was unfortunately their best chance of help.

"Really?" Ratchet replied with wide star struck eyes. "You mean, I could be _famous?_"

Qwark gurned with that immaculate smile of his "Oh, absolutely. Here; take this."

So saying, he brought out an infobot which started playing a grainy looking infomercial set to an orchestral version of 'Land of Hope and Glory' of all music; starting with a slide of one of Fred's cat-like species holding a shovel. "What makes one man toil in obscurity while another becomes a hero?" The following slides quickly changed to reflect Qwark's narrating voice. "Is it strength..." An image of Qwark holding up a ten ton weight in one hand popped up. "...compassion..." The next slide showed Qwark holding a blue... baby... thing. "...determination..." Qwark stopping a massive boulder rolling down a hill with gritted teeth "...or just pure blind luck?" This slide had Qwark gurning at the camera while holding a winning lottery ticket. "Wise men through the ages have struggled with that very question, but Captain Qwark knows the secret!"

The next two slides showed a contemplative Qwark followed by him holding a finger up in realisation. "That's why he's been able to defeat more desparates..." The slide showed Qwark zapping an amoeboid with his ray gun. "...rescue more damsels in distress..." The next showed him clutching the hoverboard competition hostess while soaring away from a hulking blargian snagglebeast. "...and save more civilisations than any other hero in the Galaxy!" This one showed him using his finger to plug a hole in a cracked dam; because that would obviously work.

"Now is your opportunity to see if you got the stuff heroes are made of!" The slide changed to Qwark with his arm snaked around the shoulders of a blank humanoid cardboard cut-out marked with a giant question mark. "This infobot contains coordinates to Qwark's secret base." The following slides contained a series of incomprehensible diagrams and blueprints followed by stick figures negotiating traps and obstacles. "Can you quickly conquer Qwark's killer candidate of qwonfounded complextions? Can you quickly qwon - can, can you Qwarkly quick - eurgh! Just make your way through the defences to the centre of the base! Prove yourself, learn the secret, and earn your place in Galactic History! The final slide showed Qwark's logo as his voice quickened. "Consult your doctor before attempting any strenuous exercise. Not responsible for death or dismemberment. Your results may vary."

The infobot finished it's transmission and moved over to Clank's side, revealing Qwark with a microphone in his hand as he spoke into it proudly. "Meet me at... uh..." He cleared his throat as he quickly hid it behind his back awkwardly. "Meet me at my headquarters."

Ellen blinked. "Did he just narrate the whole thing live, in third person?"

Unfortunately the boys were otherwise occupied with their own thoughts; the lombax smirking at his own rhetorical question. "Hey, 'Captain Ratchet' What do you think?"

Clank merely gave a small salute towards the imposing hero. "We won't fail you sir, we promise!"

As they left the trailer and hailed a cab to take them back to their ship, Ellen couldn't help the niggling feeling in the back of her mind. Other than the planet-sized ego, something seemed very wrong with the good captain. Call it instinct, but despite being all smiles, his eyes told a different story from what he was putting out. The redhead couldn't prove anything, but she would definitely watch herself and her friends around the masked man just in case. And if he turned out to be a threat? Well, they were packing enough firepower to rival a third world army; and as long as the three of them were together, nothing could stand against their team.

* * *

**So there we are; not quite as good as I****'****d hoped, but I didn****'****t want to leave you all hanging. Next time we visit Umbris and the proverbial poop is about to hit the fan.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	10. Chapter 10: Traps & Treachery

**Author****'****s note:**

**Well here we are, and I****'****m pretty sure you have a good idea of what****'****s about to happen. Although I****'****ve had the content of this chapter stirring in my mind for quite some time now, I****'****d been more than a little indecisive as to what direction to take inevitable confrontation in. The end result is a little more****…****subdued than I had previously intended, but I think it****'****s for the best in terms of the narrative.**

**Review replies:**

**destiny - Thank you once again, I****'****ll try my best to live up to your expectations.**

**anonymous - Aw, thanks. I have to admit, seeing people****'****s reviews and their feedback always provides me an incentive to keep on writing; even when I****'****m half asleep in the early hours of the morning and should know better.**

**BulletWitch1985 - I****'****m glad you like her, she****'****s definitely the most naturally flowing character I****'****ve written for any story, published or not.**

**I would be more than happy for you to run your ideas by me and to help you any way I can to bring your ideas to life. Just drop me a line either via PM or E-mail (address on my profile) and let me know how to get in contact, since I imagine you****'****d want to keep any correspondence private and waiting a week for the next update and review replies would take far too long for an adequate response.**

**I think Ratchet****'****s behaviour would depend upon when you were setting the story. Ratchet is quite frankly self centred and a little immature during the first game until he realises just what is at stake, meaning that he would probably see Lilo as more of a nuisance unless the situation compelled him otherwise. From the second game onwards though, he****'****s more mature and accepting of other people in general and I could see him acting as an older brother figure under the right conditions.**

**It sounds like you****'****ve started some pretty heavy and thorough research, if you get stuck for details or background information on the R &amp; C universe, try checking the R &amp; C wiki. I found it useful for random bits that aren****'****t explained properly in game or are other wise obscure.**

**You****'****re definitely right, though. Nefarious will have his hands full dealing with **_**two **_**highly trained commandos.**

**ReginaDC21 - Yup, intuition is her middle name. Actually it****'****s not, but still. I know exactly which scene you****'****re referring to, you****'****ll just have to read and find out****…**

**It****'****s perfectly understandable, I worry about my little brother all the time; though that****'****s usually because I worry that he****'****s going to do something stupid that ends up with him in hospital (long suffering sigh).**

**No one should be picked on because of the way they choose to express their creativity. There is no inherently ****'****bad****'**** literature or art; only poor critics. Yes, there is always room for improvement in our works as there is in all aspects of our lives, but to stifle an idea at birth; to mock and ensure it never sees the light of day is a travesty none should have to witness. That is why I like sites like this and deviant art, because those that could never hope to become a professional writer or artist can bypass the traditional barriers that stand in the way and display their creations for the world to see via the medium of the internet. I guess what I****'****m trying to say is that your sister is not alone; there are plenty of other people out there - myself included - who have gone through plenty of crap from their peers, only to carry on writing or drawing regardless. At the end of the day, you are your own worst critic; as long as you continue to pour your heart and soul into whichever project you are working on, it will all turn out for the best.**

…

**Um, yeah****…**** Sorry for the long rant, just thought it might help somehow.**

**Amberdiamondswords - Yes indeedy, you****'****ll just have to read to find out****…**

**UmbraWitchFaye - Qwark also seemed a lot smarter in the original games as well. In the Future saga he comes off as a buffoon, but in the first two games especially he****'****s a nasty piece of work. Ellen****'****s influence to Ratchet****'****s temper will be alluded to in this chapter, but once their relationship deepens he****'****s going to be **_**very**_** protective of her. God help anyone that gets in his way.**

**One way or the other, I****'****m definitely going to cover the entire original trilogy and maybe Deadlocked/Gladiator too. I****'****m especially looking forward to writing for Up Your Arsenal since it was one of my favourites. Don****'****t know if I****'****ll cover the Future saga yet, this is a pretty daunting task as it is****…**** I****'****ll see when I get there.**

**TheMounainandTheVolcano - Well she had to get him back somehow, glad you liked it.**

**No new favourites and Follows this week. But that****'****s okay, because I****'****ve got all you regulars to keeping me going. Thank you all once again.**

**As is usually the case, I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**This was a bit of a pain to get right towards the end, but I think I did okay. Chapter 10 is a go!**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 10: **

**Traps &amp; Treachery**

* * *

**Captain Qwark's Headquarters, Umbris**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**3:25pm local time**

After a brief stop over in Aridia - during which they met up with Skid's agent, received a strange looking helmet in exchange for winning the Hovercon contest and promises to 'contact your people' over a future contract - Ratchet had set course to planet Umbris on the outskirts of the galaxy. This secluded rusty-brown world was supposedly home to Captain Qwark, and from what Ellen could see during their descent it looked like a good chunk of the barren planet's surface had been converted into a sprawling fortress. Barb wire entanglements, narrow chokepoints through pools of murky water, and multitudes of turrets with interlocking fields of fire carpeted the area. Even their landing zone up on a small cliff was encroached on one side by a razor wire fence and a dead drop into the swampy brown sludge below on the other. Why he picked this foreboding place to live rather than something more cheery like a tropical resort was anyone's guess.

No sooner had they dismounted when a thwipping of rotor blades signalled the arrival of Captain Qwark, piloting one of those single-seat open top helicopters that the blarg used with one hand while the other held a megaphone up to his flapping jaw. "Welcome to my challenge course. Now is your chance to prove yourself strong and brave!" He lowered the megaphone briefly as he muttered something to himself before chuckling and bringing it back up to his mouth; finishing his little speech with a grandiose gesture. "Conquer it and you'll join in my fight against evil!"

"HAVEN'T WE DONE ENOUGH ALREADY?" Ratchet yelled up against the downwash of the chopper's blades.

Qwark cupped a hand to his ear as he leaned over in his seat nonchalantly "What? I can't hear you!"

Ellen took a step forward before shouting her own interpretation. "HE SAID; YOU - ARE - A - ASS - H-"

The spandex clad hero didn't wait for her to finish; merely waving them off. "Sorry, still having trouble! Tell me later!"

"LATER?!" Ratchet recoiled. "WE MIGHT BE DEAD BY THEN!"

"What?"

Ratchet sighed in frustration before gesturing to the route ahead. "Alright guys, let's get going."

Ellen continued to stare after the retreating helicopter with narrowed eyes as she watched it fly back to the fortress before moving to catch up with the boys; Clank's curiosity soon getting the better of him as he broke the silence. "Ellen, why did you imply that Ratchet insulted the Captain?"

She turned to look at the little robot before slowing to a halt at the end of the cliff they had set down on. "First because I was fed up of Qwark pretending not to hear us, and second because it's appropriate considering how he acts. There's just something not right about him, like he's working against us somehow." She rubbed her eyes before turning back to see Ratchet regarding her as well. "It might just be me being paranoid, but I don't want to see my friends getting hurt because I was too afraid to voice my suspicions."

Clank nodded in acceptance. "I appreciate your concern Ellen, but Captain Qwark is a paragon for the whole galaxy! He would never do something so underhanded."

"I hope so; for all our sakes."

With that, Ratchet and Ellen leapt off of the cliff edge; making use of the Versa-Targets hovering over the swamp in order to swing across to the relative safety of dry land on the other side down below. While the lombax glided the last dozen or so feet via Heli-Pack, he contemplated Ellen's words. Now that he thought about it, Qwark did seem awfully eager to make them run his little gauntlet with little regard for their well being. Was the man just buttering him up with all this 'hero' talk, and if so then why? Like Ellen said, there wasn't any hard evidence of things being off; but that didn't mean that he shouldn't be on guard himself just in case.

Upon landing they were greeted by parched ground, jagged rocks, twisted blackened trees, and a multi-barrelled automatic grenade launching turret letting off rounds like nobody's business. A concentrated burst from Ellen's Blaster pierced the outer casing and caused the volatile machine to detonate in a shower of shrapnel; allowing them to cross a small bridge supported by orange metal struts to the next island across. A second automated grenade launcher was dealt with in a similar fashion on the far side before the duo ran into a pair of what looked like floating sea mines, which promptly extended their spikes and attempted to ram them. A flung wrench tripped one mine, with the other entirely unaffected and heading straight at Ellen. Before she could react however, Ratchet had tossed a bomb into the homing weapon's path; the resulting twin explosions kicking up a cloud of debris and dirt.

Making sure she was alright, the lombax took point again as they followed a crumbling causeway over the swamp waters to a squat rust-brown structure at the end; only for a machine gun turret to pop out of the ground and start hosing the area back and forth with a stream of bullets. Ellen ducked down behind a nearby tree to avoid the murderous fire while Ratchet jumped and flipped over the stream of tracers; having discerned that the automated defence mechanism was using a set pattern that could be exploited. Springing closer in a deadly game of hopscotch, the golden-furred feline released the bomb he had been holding in a shallow arc that struck the turret off-centre and shut it down with a faint electronic whine. No sooner had the lombax and human cleared the line of fire when the machine gun turret whirred into life again; thankfully pointing back where they came from and not tracking their movements as they pushed on.

Climbing up a narrow dirt-lined craggy path that circled the structure, a floater mine springing from behind a tree was quickly cut down by a burst of Ellen's machine pistol just before they reached the top and another orange-strutted bridge; this one patrolled by a conga line of a dozen similar floating mines moving in a rough oval circuit over the bridge's length. Thankfully, being clumped together made Ratchet and Ellen's lives just that bit easier as they detonated the column from a distance with several thrown bombs before crossing over to the other side. A pair of the automated grenade launchers greeted them on a small plateau overlooking the swamp, creating an impassable wall of constant explosions from the thrown projectiles. A quick burst of gunfire and a few bombs later and they were on their way up a staircase bordering another squat rust-brown tower; only to retreat as more floating mines activated at the top step and homed in for the kill.

A panicked burst of Blaster fire clipped one mine and detonated it, while the other fell to another thrown wrench; Ratchet perhaps best summing up their struggle thus far. "We've really got to get better guns."

Humming in agreement, Ellen led the team on to a longer bridge guarded by even more floating mines orbiting between the middle and far end of the structure. Timing her shots carefully, she fired short three-round bursts into the mines predicted path, destroying most of them in a single pass while Ratchet finished up the remainder with more bombs; the duo crossing over to the other side soon after and finding themselves outside the perimeter walls of the fortress itself. The 'gate' for want of a better term was a seamlessly sealed black section in an otherwise uniform faded red wall that looked thick enough to withstand orbital bombardment; immediately in front of which sat a rough triangle of three silver and green pressure plates.

Despite her misgivings considering her track record with buttons so far, Ellen gingerly stepped onto the nearest plate before leaping back off as it lit up and began to emit a constant beeping sound. Rolling his eyes at her paranoia, Ratchet ran over the other two plates before standing back as they emitted a positive electronic bleep, followed by the door splitting down the middle and smoothly gliding open. Stepping through the opening, the lombax and human were greeted by a quartet of the grenade turrets guarding three more pressure plates scattered over the enclosed courtyard. Using similar tactics to their last encounter, Ellen sniped at the static defences from afar while Ratchet used his powerful leg muscles to launch himself skywards before tossing a bomb at the apex of his ascent to extend the range.

Tagging the pressure plates revealed another concealed entrance in the right most wall leading to yet another bridge; complacency almost costing them dearly as the span began to shudder and collapse beneath their feet. Sprinting across, Ratchet and Ellen barely made it to the other side before having to go through the same crap again with the next bridge that was set at a sharp right angle to the last. Reaching solid ground on the far side gave them no time to rest as another machinegun turret opened up on the duo; the bullets passing through the razor wire fences arranged in an alternating pattern that forced them to zigzag back and forth across the open plateau as they ducked and jumped each sweep of tracer fire.

Deactivating the turret with a solid whack of his wrench, Ratchet went first as they used a series of Versa-Targets to swing along the perimeter of the inner courtyard; landing on a raised metal walkway between the fortress and a rust-brown tower with a searchlight mounted on top. If the outer defences had been bad, the inner courtyard was a death trap; a jumble of thick walls, piles of rocks, and randomly vectoring machine gun turrets covering the area, making finding the pressure plates to open the next door that bit harder. Splitting up, Ratchet and Ellen swept the area while being cautious around the bullet hoses guarding every corner; the redhead managing to disable a turret by jamming her knife into a servo on the back before stepping onto a soon to be beeping pad and continuing on her way.

Ratchet meanwhile had run into a cluster of floating mines guarding another pressure pad, which were swiftly dispatched without breaking stride as he moved on to find the elusive third switch. The beeping began to get more rapid and frantic as the two searched up and down, finally locating it sandwiched between a pair of thick off-red walls and a machine gun turret. With all three pressure plates activated, the doorway into the fortress proper opened up and the team stepped inside; eager to finally get Qwark's little fun house over and done with. Taking the curving staircase two steps at a time, they emerged at the top to find the main entrance guarded by more patrolling hover mines and something that made Ratchet raise a brow in question while Ellen wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"He _seriously_ has a life size gold statue of himself? Of all the egotistical, frivolous things he could have done..."

With both their opinions of Qwark plummeting by the minute, Ratchet cleaned out the wandering explosives with his flamethrower before they activated the pressure pads around the statue's base and slipped inside the revealed doorway. Climbing a ridiculously long ladder, they finally emerged on the battlements by a large pool of clear water containing several creatures that looked like shark sized piranhas; each sporting solid yellow eyes, gaping maws of razor sharp teeth, and oddly enough, hind legs in addition to flippers. Using the Hydrodisplacer to drain the pool left the fish to flounder, but didn't render them as helpless as Ellen had expected. Sure they couldn't swim, but they seemed to breathe air and move around just fine. Perhaps they were amphibious?

Either way, their scaly hides were no match for combined Blaster and Pyrocitor fire as they blew through the noticeable less agile creatures with ease; passing through a formerly submerged tunnel and climbing the steps at the other side. Slinging a few bombs, Ratchet cleared out a few more of the freaky fish in the next drained pool before Ellen refilled it; allowing them to swim across and pull themselves back out onto dry land. The final pool on the battlements was also the largest, and had the highest concentration of the hungry looking amphibians. Draining the water once again, Ellen dropped down into the ankle deep water just after Ratchet; the pair flambéing the fish or otherwise turning them into sushi with Pyrocitor, Bomb Glove, and melee weapons alike.

At the back of the pool lay the way forwards; unfortunately far too high to reach and with no handholds in sight. Ellen did wonder about using her grapple Gun to winch them up, but wasn't sure if the cable could take their combined weight. In the end they opted to just refill the pool and swim through; something that made the human feel uncomfortable thanks to her prior memories of being submerged, but persevered with Ratchet at her side. Emerging on the surface, she groaned at seeing yet another faucet for the Hydrodisplacer and a series of Versa-Targets suspended over an enclosed canal.

"I'm starting to get fed up of this homicidal fun house. How much more is there?"

Thankfully, not much. Draining the water allowed the duo to cross to the far side via Grapple Gun and Swingshot respectively; landing in a stone cave covered in piping with a faucet that led to a large, round room with the disturbing looking fish floundering in knee-high water below while a large, smooth pillar topped with three tightly-packed pressure plates sat directly in the middle. Wading through the pool, the fish were fried in good order before it was filled with the contents of the Hydrodisplacer; allowing easy access to the pillar and their ticket out of there. Once the shutter on the far side of the room had rolled open, Ratchet and Ellen swam across before hauling themselves up into a carved stone corridor lined with metal archways and struts. Following the meandering path, they soon emerged into a metal lined room leading to an exposed skeletal-ribbed tunnel over a grated walkway; at the end of which stood the elusive galactic hero whose help they sought.

"Ratchet, Ellen, look! It is Captain Qwark, we have succeeded in his challenge."

_'About bloody time. Now for some answers...'_

Ellen exchanged a knowing look with Ratchet, her hand twitching next to her Quick Select module as he gave a slight nod in agreement. At least they were on the same page. With Clank racing forward, the pair made their way down the gantry with caution to where Qwark stood on the edge of a circular viewing platform in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. "Well, well. You three continue to surprise me."

_'Oh, so now you acknowledge me,' _Ellen thought bitterly as Qwark jumped back onto a hovering platform that had risen up from the cavern below. She took a flanking position on one side of the walkway they had traversed while Ratchet mirrored her actions on the other side.

An oblivious Clank made his way to the very centre of the platform and looked up at Qwark with those innocent green optics of his as the celebrity hero continued in an increasingly sickly sweet tone of voice. "Step into the ring of heroes and I will _finally_ give you what you _deserve._"

The minute machine turned back to beseech his organic companions; perhaps wondering why they were hanging back. "Ratchet, Ellen, this is no time for you to become cautious! We have reached our goal!"

"I don't know," the lombax drawled out as he scratched his head. "There's something _fishy_ going on around here."

Ellen's hands balled into fists as she narrowed her eyes at the spandex clad hero. "There's been 'something fishy' going on since the very beginning. Isn't that right, _'Captain'?_"

Qwark merely glared down at her through his increasingly forced false smile as he gestured grandiosely. "You two should listen to your little metal friend. Your destiny is mere _steps away._"

One of Ratchet's hands slowly started to snake towards his Quick Select, eyes never leaving Qwark's own. "Sorry, but I agree with Ellen. Something just doesn't seem right about this."

At that point Clank rushed towards his organic friends with whirring servos, grabbing them with surprising strength for his diminutive form as he dragged them to stand with him in the centre of the platform. "This is it! Qwark is going to help us stop Chairman Drek!"

Qwark looked down on them with a triumphant grin plastered on his face. "Why _thank you_ Clank. You have been... _most_ helpful."

With those last words, he produced a small black remote from his belt before pressing it's single red button. Before anyone could react, the centre ring of the platform swung open like a trapdoor; sending the three falling into the lava-lined cavern down below. The drop wasn't fatal, but was still enough to knock the air out of Ratchet's lungs as he landed flat on his back; Ellen sprawling heavily on her side nearby with a hiss of pain. Clank however had it the easiest, landing gently with his Heli-Pack rotors as he touched down on Ratchet's stomach.

"Get _offa_ me, you _idiot!_" Punctuating his words with a shove, Ratchet clambered to his feet with a scowl on his face; Ellen staggering to his side while favouring one side.

Descending on his floating platform, Qwark chuckled darkly with a evil grin on his face. "I _love it_ when a plan comes together!"

Clank looked up at him with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think he means, _genius?_" the lombax snarked. "He's not gonna help us, he's gonna kill us!"

"You catch on quick," Qwark pointed at them with a gloating tone. "Although there is one problem with your hypothesis; _I'm_ not going to kill you."

Ratchet furrowed a brow as he noticed Ellen slowly move to one side, opting to keep Qwark talking. "You're not?"

"No. _He_ is!" Following the treacherous former hero's gesture to the far side of the cavern, the lombax could see the hulking green blargian snagglebeast from the Robo Shack commercial chained to a pair of stone pillars and in danger of breaking free at any moment.

Clank looked up at Qwark with a hurtful expression, his world pulled out from underneath him like a rug. "But... Why?"

"_'But... Why?'_" Qwark mocked the betrayed robot with a crude imitation of his last words before snorting. "It's really not that difficult to decipher! I'm the official spokesman for Drek's new planet. I don't want you three getting in the way of my comeba-" His monologue was cut off by an extended burst of automatic gunfire striking his platform and almost sending him over the edge as it weaved to one side. Glaring back down to the culprit, Qwark saw Ellen lowering the still smoking barrel of her now empty Blaster as her cold blue eyes stared up at him murderously. "Ha! You missed! Sorry sweetheart, but you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn; let alone-"

"I wasn't aiming for you."

Qwark raised a brow mockingly. "Oh?"

With the smell of burnt wiring, one of the platform's thrusters sparked and exploded; sending the entire construct careening as Qwark frantically steered it on a drunken course out of the cavern as Ratchet snarled after him. "This isn't over, Qwark!"

"No... But it will be soon," the traitor quipped over his shoulder before vacating post haste.

"Get back here you backstabbing bastard!" the seriously pissed human girl bellowed after him, only to halt as the snagglebeast finally broke free of it's chains and roared at the remaining trio.

It looked like they might be a little delayed.

The cavern was a veritable death trap of limited rock plateaus linked by a series of flimsy bridges and surrounded by lava; the burning stench of sulphur choking the air as Ratchet and Ellen prepared to do battle once again. Stomping towards them, the snagglebeast let out concentric, inexplicably flaming shockwaves with each thunderous step; forcing the duo to evade and retreat over the nearest bridge in order to gain some breathing space. Circling around a large pool of lava, they were forced to dive apart as a laser beam seared out of a boxy metallic helmet mounted atop the creature's thick skull and across their path; carving a foot deep trench into the solid rock like it was made of paper.

Getting in close, the lombax and human jumped over another series of shockwaves before unleashing a barrage of their own; Ellen's bombs doing little damage against the giant green reptilian's thick skin, though Ratchet's Pyrocitor proved surprisingly effective. Roaring with pain, the snagglebeast took a step back as it flailed at the flames licking up its leg before an all encompassing force field sprang into life around its body; reflecting any more attacks as it stomped after the pair once again with thunderous steps while flinging balls of burning plasma from its extended palms.

"That can't be natural! What the hell did Qwark do to the damn thing?!"

Neither of the males had an answer for Ellen's rhetorical question as they ran like hell across a nearby bridge with the not so jolly green giant in hot pursuit, no pun intended. Reaching the other side, they whirled around at the sudden bellow of pain; the snagglebeast having collapsed the bridge under its own weight and was now floundering in the lava. The sparking shield was the only thing protecting the hulking creature from certain death while a pair of stubby wings lifted it back onto the relative safety of the sulphur encrusted rocks on the opposite side from the team. Glaring at them with its solid, cold blue eyes, the snagglebeast sent them packing with more shockwaves and laser strikes as it tried to find a way to get to the now running lombax and human.

Finding a discarded magazine poking forth from the charred ruins of an abandoned wooden crate, Ellen frantically reloaded her Blaster while Ratchet weaved through the maelstrom of attacks sent his way. Nearly having his tail singed off from a near miss, the lombax somersaulted over the incoming shockwaves before unleashing his flamethrower at point blank range; joined shortly thereafter by a tirade of bullets courtesy of Ellen. After absorbing enough damage, the thoroughly annoyed creature reactivated its shield before taking the offensive once again. Leading the beast on a wide circuit, the pair narrowly avoided the fireballs slung their way as they booked it across another bridge over a pool of lava. The snagglebeast thankfully seemed as stupid as it was strong, since it fell for the same tactic once again; the bridge buckling and snapping in half under the sheer weight as the juggernaut was send sprawling into the lava a second time.

Furious at being duped, the angry mass of towering green muscle redoubled its efforts to annihilate the pesky intruders to its domain. A never ending barrage of attacks assailed Ratchet and Ellen as they were forced to split up and evade the increasingly vicious assault. Pointing her Blaster at the centre mass, the human simply held down the trigger as the machine pistol stitched a line of bullet holes across the giant's chest; keeping it distracted while her lombax partner flanked around a lava pool and came up on the snagglebeast's rear. Inhaling a mass of air, it let out a gale force blast that sent the Ellen flying just as Ratchet got into position and turned up the heat on their opponent.

With flames engulfing its back, the infuriated creature swiped ineffectually at the lombax before its shield crackled into life and the pursuit was on once again. Groaning as she staggered to her feet, Ellen could only watch as the hulking green mass boxed Ratchet into an area where the bridge had already collapsed; forcing him to nimbly leap across the melting collapsed sections floating on the lava's surface before joining her on the other side. The snagglebeast came charging after them a scant few seconds later with all the subtlety of a runaway freight train as the pair ran for the only remaining intact bridge; the creature failing to realise its mistake until it was too late. Stomping forth In its blind rage, the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut crashed through the flimsy bridge and sank into the boiling lava below with an excruciating howl as its shield finally sparked and died along with the monstrous beast.

Pausing to catch their collective breaths, the team forced themselves to walk out of the energy sapping heat of the cavern and past a thick armoured door set low in one wall across a recently revealed bridge, only to find an infobot waiting for them at the threshold. "I wonder what that infobot is for?"

"Maybe it can replace you" Ratchet snarked back at Clank with a scowl. Ellen glared at the lombax but otherwise bit her tongue as the infobot played it's message.

"We're pinned down! We're pinned down! The ships are hammering our position from the air!"

It looked like a distress call of sorts; the grainy black and white video showing a moustached novalian soldier holding on to his helmet as he hunkered down behind a wall. A sudden whistling followed by an explosion made the camera rock and the soldier duck a little further down before peeking around his cover. "That was a little _too_ close! We need support, NOW!" Taking a quick glance around the novalian looked straight at the camera before gesturing to himself. "Actually, _I_ need support. My entire battalion went AWOL and left me to fight this war on my own! If the enemy doesn't kill those guys, _I_ sure as heck will!" Suddenly, the bombardment increased as the sound of detonations came closer. "I'm not gonna last much longer! Requesting immediate assistance! Over and out!"

With the brief recording finished, Clank stored the infobot before turning to his companions. "Those are Drek's ships destroying that planet. We must help that commando!"

"Are you serious?!" Ratchet all but yelled. "That's it, I am outta here!" With that he stormed into the hanger's interior with anger radiating from every feature, leaving a stunned Clank in his wake.

Ellen wasted no time in catching up before halting the errant lombax with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

He turned to face the human girl before shrugging off her grip. "To find Captain Qwark. He's gonna be sorry he ever messed with me!"

The lombax hadn't taken more than two steps before Ellen grabbed him by the lapels and forced him to look at her again. "Would you listen to yourself?! Qwark dicked _all_ of us over! Hell, the greedy bastard just screwed over the entire galaxy for the blarg just to top up his bank balance. I'm just as pissed as you are, but we need to focus on the big picture right now."

Clank nodded in agreement. "Ellen is correct, this is not about Captain Qwark any more. There are innocent lives being lost even as we speak."

"Yeah? Well I'm done with this stupid hero stuff! I've got my own agenda now!"

The little silver robot tottered forward to close the gap between them as he tried to reason with the lombax. "Ratchet, this is not like you."

With a snarl, Ratchet turned his anger and frustration on the diminutive machine. "What do you know about me?! You've spent this whole time looking for Qwark. You don't know anything about me!"

"I thought I did." Ellen's quiet voice, lacking any of the fight it had previously possessed, drew the lombax's attention; cold realisation striking through the red mist of anger that had consumed him. "What happened to the lombax who went out of his way for a stranger in need? Who agreed to help not for fame or riches, but because he chose to help someone who couldn't help themselves?" Her words combined with the dull disappointment in her tired eyes hurt more than any physical blow ever could; guilt beginning to gnaw at his mind even as his stubborn pride over rode everything else with thoughts of payback.

"I know that you will do the right thing," Clank added gently; causing Ratchet to throw up his hands in frustration and grind his teeth as he stalked towards a sleek and sporty red shuttle emblazoned with Qwark's logo nearby that had been left behind when the former hero had escaped.

"Yeah, well right now the only thing I wanna do is find Qwark!" The lombax unsealed the canopy and hopped in to the pilot's seat, only to find a slight problem. "How do you start this stupid thing?!"

"Have you forgotten?" Clank used his rotor blades to fly up to the cockpit before facing his frustrated companion. "You need a robotic ignition system. I will start the ship as long as you agree to help that commando."

Feeling a hand on his arm, Ratchet ceased his scrutiny of the controls and the barbed retort on his tongue to look up into Ellen's concerned eyes as she sat in the passenger seat next to him. "We'll get Qwark, I promise. But we have no idea where he could have gone right now. Instead we should concentrate on helping those we can, and stop Drek before it's too late."

The lombax pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. "You know what? Fine. But if Qwark suddenly shows up, I'm not holding back. And you..." Clank perked up at the attention on his person. "Just... shut up and start the damn ship."

With the start up sequence initiated, the commandeered tour shuttle lifted off of the hanger floor before retracting its landing gear; speeding out and up through the dreary skies to their next destination. The cockpit was silent save for the occasional electronic beep of the instruments; the atmosphere tense and devoid of natural conversation. Despite having defused the argument, Ellen couldn't help but notice Ratchet shooting unflattering sideways glances at the subdued form of Clank on her lap when he thought she wasn't looking. Although Qwark had failed to kill them, he had unwittingly succeeded in driving a wedge between them.

Their collective friendship was starting to fall apart.

* * *

**Da-da-dum! What****'****s next for our intrepid trio? Will they be able to pull together in the face of adversity, or is their relationships shattered beyond repair? Find out next time****…**** Although you can probably guess the answer already.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	11. Chapter 11: Rain & Regrets

**Author****'****s note:**

**And now the aftermath. I know it****'****s crucial for the narrative, but I hate the friction between Ratchet and Clank at this point in the game. Still, it makes writing the next few chapters a little more challenging and interesting from an author****'****s viewpoint. I did consider skipping out the need to back track to Batalia later on, but decided to follow canon for now since it made more sense based upon what****'****s coming up in the near future. Don****'****t worry, I am thinking ahead****…**** Mostly.**

**Review replies:**

**ReginaDC21 - Thanks, I originally intended them to have a full blown argument but scrapped the idea in favour of something more subdued and realistic. I have to admit, I am definitely looking forward to writing for Up Your Arsenal; Nefarious is my favourite villain too.**

**Looking forward to seeing what your sister can come up with, I only hope she hasn****'****t lost any of her work. Thanks for keeping me in the loop with regards to what****'****s happening. I understand where your dad****'****s coming from, mine****'****s the same. I****'****d be frankly dubious too in his position; I****'****m sure he****'****s got your best interests at heart though. Hope to hear from you soon.**

**kboyer36 - Thank you very much, I****'****ll try to live up to your expectations.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - But they do have exceptionally good cake. (Mmmm****…****)**

**Amberdiamondswords - Since the movie is based around the main events of the first game, he probably will since it creates dramatic tension between the two main characters. Thanks again.**

**destiny - I try to liven things up a bit with a few wisecracks, glad you enjoyed the chapter.**

**pkmnsurvivor19 - I****'****m glad you approve. The truth will be revealed sooner than you think****…****but not just yet.**

**anonymous - Oh yes, Ellen will definitely have more than just a ****'****few words****'**** for Qwark when they finally come face to face once more. (Grins maliciously)**

**Hello to pkmsurvivor19 and thank you for adding this story to your favourites along with all you regulars who favourite and follow. You are the metaphorical oil that keeps the cogs in my mind turning.**

**I****'****m always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**This was a bit of a pain to get right towards the end, but I think I did okay. Chapter 10 is a go!**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 11: **

**Rain &amp; Regrets**

* * *

**Fort Krontos, Batalia**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**4:37pm local time**

The weather perfectly matched the mood inside the shuttle as rain lashed at the canopy and distant thunder rumbled across the dull grey skies of Batalia. Like Rilgar, the planet's surface appeared to be dotted with a large number of islands; albeit greater in number and grouped into small chains around the two main land masses that held a majority of the population. It seemed these island chains were primarily used for planetary defence of the mainland considering the similar militarisation of the islands surrounding the one which they were heading for; each heavily fortified with numerous ground based turrets and military bases. None of the vessel's occupants spoke, even as Ratchet brought the craft in to set down on a landing pad next to an abandoned cliff side barracks on the eastern tip of the crescent-shaped island.

It was as near as they could get to the last known coordinates of the commando's transmission, and it was obvious from the condition of the surrounding facilities that said soldier hadn't been joking. The blargian assault had completely overwhelmed the island's defences; large intra-atmospheric bombers cruising the skies along with attack aircraft, making occasional bomb runs against distant targets while squads of robots could be seen patrolling in the immediate area, with more likely in the sub-tropical terrain beyond. The dominant feature of the area though was the ruins of the fortress built into the western tip of the crescent-shaped cove; multiple chunks missing from several of its walls, including a massive breach on the eastern wall, and most of the heavy turrets on the defensive towers either burning or otherwise inoperable. All in all, not a good sign.

It seemed that they wouldn't have to search far in order to find their man though, since the commando from the transmission was already stood at the end of the landing pad waiting for them. Dressed in green fatigues and with the ever present helmet seemingly glued to his head, the moustached man's eyes bored into them as the shuttle's engines wound down and the frayed team stepped out into the miserable weather.

"At attention, you deserting maggots!" They hadn't taken more than two steps off of the pad when he began barking at them in full drill sergeant mode; the trio automatically snapping to attention at the tone of command before their minds could catch up as the novalian continued to lay into the three while jabbing a finger in their direction. "The next time you soldiers try to go AWOL, I'll shoot you myself!"

Snapping out of whatever spell they seemed to temporarily be under, Ratchet threw his hands up disarmingly as he tried to reason with the disgruntled soldier. "Look, I just want to-"

"_Zip it_ worm! You see those bombers?" Three heads turned to observe his gesture as one of the squat grey craft with the stubby fins and cylindrical, rotating bomb rack in the middle of the fuselage as it flew overhead. "If you don't get to the turrets and knock those ships out of the sky, this whole planet's gonna be rubble! Meet me at the base entrance." With a quick salute, the commando stalked off to do... whatever he intended to do; leaving Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank to stand in the steady downpour in silence.

"He needs our help!"

The lombax glared down at the sentient machine stood to his left. "Yeah, well why don't you go and help him... _into another trap!_" Ignoring the pointed look that Ellen shot him, he shooed the Clank away; leaving the little silver robot looking like a kicked puppy as he gazed up with mournful optics. "Well, go on... go fight some evil."

With a deepening scowl at his petty minded behaviour, Ellen stepped around Ratchet's side so she could look him in the eye. "I thought that was your job, _'Captain Ratchet'_."

He twitched in irritation at the reminder; not wanting to admit that he'd been caught up in Qwark's little game like that. Clank looked between the two organics, first at Ellen then Ratchet as they stared each other down. Finally, the lombax turned his gaze away; snorting in derision as he waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever." His eyes narrowed as they dropped to the reason for his foul mood. "As soon as I find Qwark, I'm selling you for scrap."

With the lombax storming off with a scowl on his face, the diminutive machine turned his sad green optics to face his only remaining companion. "Ellen, I fear that Ratchet is correct. Were it not for my insistence on finding Captain Qwark, then none of this would have occurred."

The human bent down on one knee as she laid a hand on his tiny shoulder. "Hey, you did nothing wrong. You weren't to know that Qwark was such an asshole. As for Ratchet... He's more pissed at himself than anything else for not seeing it earlier. Problem is he's taking it out on you because it's easier to blame someone else, and I'm not having it."

Clank grasped her hand with a pair of his metallic digits as he looked up at the reassuring smile on her face. "Do you think that... we will be friends again?"

Ellen nodded in confidence. "Yeah, I do. Just give him some time to cool off and I'm sure he'll be back to his usual cocky self before you know it. Now..." She pushed herself to her feet before drawing her Blaster and checking the ammunition reserve. "Lets go catch up, shall we?"

They found the lombax savagely laying into a small group of hovering drones consisting of a torso with a single, glowing optic and a pair of spindly arms; finishing off the last one with his Omni-Wrench as a missile from a passing attack aircraft destroyed a hover-skiff parked at a dry dock nearby. With the patrolling machines laying in broken pieces, Ratchet browsed through a nearby Gadgetron vendor with Ellen tentatively stepping alongside while keeping herself between him and Clank.

With a grimace of satisfaction, the lombax purchased a semi-active target-seeking rocket launcher called a Devastator while Ellen choose something a little more unconventional. For a while now the redhead had wanted something that filled the same role as a Bomb Glove but with a much greater punch, and the Glove of Doom seemed to fit the bill; allowing her to stay out of the effective range of an enemy's weapons or even attack from around a corner with the intelligent projectiles thrown from the weapon.

After fully replenishing their previously expended ammo, they began moving forwards in a uncomfortable silence punctuated only by the tropical rainfall and the not so distant explosions from the bombers assault. Suddenly, Ratchet veered off to the right up an incline lined with small bunkhouses towards a large grind rail that swept off in to the distance. "Ratchet, where are you going?"

The lombax completely blanked his mechanical companion as he jumped on the grind rail and set off over the ridiculously intricate course suspended above the sea while weaving in and out of a series of communication towers. With Ratchet disappearing in to the distance, Ellen noted Clank's slumped shoulders with a frown as she gently led him away from the bunkhouses and back down the incline to the vendor. "Come on Clank, let's have a look around while misery guts back there has a good sulk."

Taking the only other path available, Ellen and Clank soon came across a pair of intact military grade reinforced warehouses flanking the bomb cratered route, along with a slender-framed humanoid robot sporting an automatic rifle and a familiar dull-yellow paint scheme to previous models in Drek's mechanised army. The machine opened fire immediately, forcing the human and robot companions to seek shelter behind a jutting pillar on the left most warehouse.

With Clank relatively safe, Ellen spun around her cover with her machine pistol levelled and firing at the surprisingly agile enemy robot as he flipped to one side in a manner reminiscent of a certain lombax. With her rounds hitting nothing but air, the mechanical soldier opened up again with a hail of bullets that made the human dive away into a roll away from Clank as she switched to her Bomb Glove. As Ellen predicted, the robot somersaulted to one side once again after attacking but this time met an explosive surprise upon landing.

With no more threats in the immediate area, she returned to check on Clank only to find him contemplating the Invinco-Lock on the warehouse door. "Hmm, this door appears to have a far stronger encryption algorithm than those we have encountered previously. Perhaps there is something useful inside that the blarg have yet to take."

Ellen nodded absently. She didn't want to go too far ahead with Ratchet still absent, and this was as good a distraction as any for the time being to keep her mind off of his increasingly distant behaviour. Keeping watch for any hostile movement, Ellen briefly glimpsed Clank setting up her netbook before returning her attention to the surrounding area; even as her thoughts continued to linger on the errant lombax.

_'What the hell's got into you, fuzz ball? If ever there was a time we needed your head screwed on it's now.'_

{()}

Grinding the intricate line of rails twisting all over the bay area off of the coast was almost therapeutic to Ratchet; allowing him to temporarily forget about the other two going on about Drek and simply enjoy the ride. Leaping over a broken section, the lombax continued on the rail through a hollowed out pillar of rock and a pair of barriers within ringed markers which were easily vaulted over thanks to his natural agility. Flipping to the right, he landed on a parallel rail that snaked off in the opposite direction before almost running into the only real problem so far; floating mines. Thankfully these seemed happy to stay where they were unlike those previously encountered on Umbris, and with deft timing they too were left in his wake. Transferring to another rail, the lombax began to ascend in a circuit around the large rock pillar before the route took a plunge into a descending spiral chock full of mines.

With the increased speed, Ratchet didn't even have time to blink as he skimmed the rail while missing the floating explosives by the skin of his teeth. The route cut back through a tunnel in another rock pillar before ascending alongside another rail that peeled off deeper into the chain of craggy peaks that decorated the bay off shore. Passing a relay tower, the lombax continued to spring over the mines sown in his path before having to zigzag between two separate unfinished rail sections; culminating in a sharp dive into yet another tunnel cut through a pillar of rock followed by an equally sudden ascent. Suddenly there was no more track, and Ratchet found himself flailing through the air with a yell only to be saved by a heavy landing on top of an off shore communications relay tower that already seemed to be occupied.

"Halt! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Looking up from his sprawled position, Ratchet found himself staring down the barrel of a Blaster-type rifle being held in the twitchy hands of a panicked looking novalian teenager wearing a similar uniform to the commando, with the addition of an army green backpack and a grubby looking vest in place of the immaculate long-sleeved jacket. The lombax slowly raised his hands while making sure he kept eye contact; keeping his voice even and non-threatening as he spoke. "Easy there, I'm not with the blarg. Me and my... friends found a distress call and came here to help. Just... put the gun down, nice and easy."

There was a pregnant silence between the two broken only by the crashing of waves below, until the rookie soldier slowly lowered his weapon with a shuddering breath and left it pointed at his side. "you don't look like one of them, not that I care really." The podgy teen rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It's been non-stop since the blarg got here. I joined the army to get money to go to college; I never knew I'd end up in a war! Go figure."

Having picked himself up and dusted off, Ratchet gave the potential deserter a poignant look. "But isn't that what an army's for; fighting and protecting people?"

The young novalian snorted contemptuously. "Protection my hiney. Take a look around; the blarg blew through us like we were nothing! We couldn't protect ourselves, let alone anyone else! Everyone I know is either dead or gone elsewhere." His eyes darted around in paranoia, as if expecting an attack any second. "I... I've gotta get the heck outta here. I just want to get home to my family." From his backpack, the deserter brought out an infobot. "Here, I pulled this off a busted robot. Give me some bolts for bus fare off this rock and it's yours."

Even as he brought up his Wrist Com to pay for the infobot, Ratchet's mind churned in thought. A part of him loathed the novalian for running from the fight, but was he so different? He wanted revenge on Qwark so badly, but one look at the surrounding landscape bought his narrow minded vendetta into question. Was this the fate of all the planets under blarg occupation; to be steamrollered and pillaged with nary a hint of token resistance? Even if he took down Qwark, would there be much of a galaxy left to come back to once Drek had finished with it?

Maybe... Maybe Clank had a point...

He shook his head. It was still the robot's fault for nearly getting them killed, and he was hardly going to let the bucket of bolts live that down if he had anything to say about it. As for Ellen... Frankly, the human confused him. She spoke of getting back at Qwark, yet she was quick to defend Clank; as if he deserved it! The lombax didn't know how to handle her, especially since he still hadn't made his feelings known, and there was always the threat of that damn Simon guy looming over his chances with the girl.

"Thanks a bunch. Good luck saving the galaxy, or whatever." Blinking out of his reverie, Ratchet caught the rear end of the deserter diving off of the platform into the ocean below. Where he was going wasn't clear or relevant to the lombax though as he viewed the infobot's message with increasing interest before using a nearby teleporter pad to jump back to the shuttle's landing zone.

{()}

"And... there. I have successfully disengaged the lock."

Ellen shared a glance with her diminutive robot companion as he packed away her netbook back into wherever he managed to store so much stuff, while she took up position beside the warehouse door ready to breach. "Alright, you ready?"

At his nod, Ellen's hand slammed down on the button beside the shutter; her Blaster levelled and ready as she swept it across the interior. Nothing... Plenty of crates maybe, but nought out of the ordinary. With Clank trailing behind, she began to salvage what she could from the stockpiles of ammunition and bolts piled in several containers while giving a wide berth to the bright red crates which had a habit of exploding if touched according to her companion. The sound of footsteps outside caused the human to freeze momentarily before seeking cover with her weapon pointed at the warehouse entrance, Clank huddling down behind her. Ten strenuous seconds later she relaxed as a surprisingly chipper looking lombax stepped inside.

"Hey, I'm back! You gotta take a look at this!" Dropping an infobot in front of the human and robot, Ratchet stood alongside Ellen as the message began to play once again.

"Greetings, Supreme Executive Chairman Drek," a cultured sounding blarg scientist addressed the camera; his dull, reddish-hued skin and solid yellow eyes along with the neat fitting uniform of whites and greys trimmed with black setting him apart from the blargian soldiers they had previously encountered. "As you can see, we're about to test our newest automated pilot's helmet." With a clipboard clutched in one hand, he turned to grandiosely gesture to a small, predominantly orange fighter craft sat on a launch ramp against the backdrop of a volcanic planet with a sky like molten metal.

"This helmet allows pilots to control our latest high-tech fighters using only their thoughts." The perspective changed to a close up of a green-eyed blarg running through last minute checks in the cockpit before giving the thumbs up and lowering the canopy. As the engine noise increased in pitch, the camera returned to showing the scientist as he adjusted his glasses with a smile. "Please, enjoy the demonstration." No sooner had he spoken when the ship suddenly shot off... in reverse; crashing into a wall with a rending of flaming metal parts flying everywhere. The scientist visibly cringed before turning to face the camera with a sheepish look on his face. "Though, we still have a..." Behind him, a singed pilot helmet hit the platform; bouncing a few times before coming to a halt. "...a few _minor_ adjustments to make..."

The transmission cut off, and the infobot joined Clank's ever growing collection as Ratchet grinned with excitement. "What did I tell ya? If they ever get the kinks worked out of that thing, I have got to get me one of those!"

Clank gave a small nod of acceptance. "If the scientists there are working for Chairman Drek, they may know where he is."

Ellen kept quiet, unwilling to ruin the moment since the lombax seemed like he had finally come to his senses.

"Is that all you can think about; Drek this and Drek that? I got my own problems!"

Or not...

Ratchet folded his arms and looked away with a huff while an increasingly agitated Clank pointed a metal digit at him. "If you can not see the importance of this situation, you _do_ have problems."

The lombax turned to face the robot with a snort. "Yeah? Well if you're so _smart,_ how come you fell for Qwark's _stupid_ trick?"

Clank visibly deflated, hanging his head in resignation. Ellen meanwhile was fixing the lombax with a dangerous glare. "Ratchet..."

He almost winced at the intensity of the gaze, remembering her words on Umbris caused a small well of guilt to bubble up inside him that he quickly shoved down. "Ah, forget it. We all need to get to this planet, and that's all that matters."

"Not until we've helped that commando."

He sighed at the reminder before turning to stroll out of the warehouse, Clank already positioned on his back. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, lets get this over with"

Turning left, they were met with another of those surprisingly agile automatic rifle-wielding robots that was soon dealt with before crossing a steel humpback bridge spanning a ravine to a walled observation deck overlooking the valley. Halfway over, a missile streaking from a passing attack aircraft struck less than ten feet ahead; almost knocking Ratchet and Ellen off of the edge as they struggled to stay upright. The platform was gone, but a broken water pipe jutting out of the mountain side allowed the duo to carefully cross the precariously balanced structure to the other side. No sooner had they touched down when the pair found themselves under attack from two of the small single-opticed drones Ratchet had previously smashed up near their ship; the small robots attempting to shock the human and lombax with their pincer limbs only to be quickly stabbed and cleaved through respectively.

A grenade landing between the pair forced them to scatter, eyes roving for the one who had thrown it. Several tense seconds later drew Ellen's attention to a thicket of grass as it rustled unnaturally, shortly before a blarg trooper popped up with another grenade in hand primed and ready. Dropping him with a short burst of her machine pistol, Ellen rolled to one side to avoid the inevitable explosion before turning her attention back to Ratchet in time to see him dispatch another of the jumping yellow-painted robots with his Bomb Glove.

Taking in the scene below their position, Ellen idly noted the bolt crank in the shallow gulley below that likely extended the retracted bridge near them to the small structure on the other side, along with the hovering drones and several good hiding spots for more of those ambushing blarg troopers. Turning to catch her companion's attention, she saw Ratchet jogging down a natural slope to the gulley below and took off in pursuit. They hadn't got half way down when a blarg grenadier popped out of a bush just below and wound up his arm for a throw; a quick burst of Blaster fire putting him down just as the lombax hit the bottom of the ramp and introduced his wrench to another grenadier who made the mistake of jumping into his path.

Without stopping, the duo soon blew through the waiting drones and activated the bolt crank on the cliff edge overlooking a waterfall; the bridge extending and allowing them to cross once they had quickly made their way back up to the plateau above. Or at least they would have if it hadn't been for a rumbling engine from the far side forcing them to skid to a halt with wide eyes; or rather at the sight of what followed it.

"Tank! Get back!"

Rolling over the bridge was a tracked, green-painted armoured vehicle that, while small by human military standards, was still plenty menacing enough as its twin-barrelled auto-cannon turret spat explosive shells at a frightening pace. Ratchet got off a single rocket from his Devastator before being forced to retreat from the withering barrage of fire sent his way by the lumbering machine, scorching the armour but otherwise not doing much damage. While the tank seemed focused upon the lombax, Ellen had managed to get within its blind spot near the engine block and unleashed a cluster of thrown bombs before dashing away from the tracking turret as it tried to acquire the human attacker. The brief respite was all Ratchet needed as he braced himself and fired his Devastator as fast as he could steady his aim, one rocket knocking out the turret while the following pair penetrated the side armour and detonated internally with a resounding boom.

With the tank knocked out, Ratchet and Ellen skirted around the wreckage and crossed the bridge with haste. Restocking from a cache of ammo in a bunker on the other side, they found themselves taking a naturally occurring water slide down into a reservoir feeding the waterfall they saw earlier; as well as an array of enemy forces set to oppose them. A pair of the agile yellow-painted robots greeted the duo with automatic fire just as they pulled themselves out of the water, the short distance between the two sides forcing the human and lombax to go on the offensive in order to survive.

Ratchet broke out the Pyrocitor, which was surprisingly effective against the mechanical soldier facing him, while Ellen tucked into a roll before unleashing a pair of bombs that bracketed and destroyed the other machine. Ahead of them another tank trundled back and forth on patrol between a pair of bolt cranks, likely for the disabled bridge to access the fortress nearby to their left, while the tropical foliage around the natural clearing provided cover for any number of hidden forces.

"Trap?" Ellen enquired with an inclination of her head towards their immediate goal.

"Probably," the lombax answered. "But that's never stopped us before."

With a look of determination etched on his face, Ratchet took off towards the guarding tank with Ellen close on his heels. Halting on a small rise around thirty feet short of their goal, the lombax sighted his rocket launcher on the still moving tank while Ellen kept her eyes open for any additional enemies. Even as Ratchet let loose his first shot, a flash of movement had Ellen sighting on the nearest bush just as a pair of grenade-slinging blarg popped up with their deadly payloads ready to fly.

She quickly dropped one, but was too late to stop the other sending an explosive present their way; tackling Ratchet to one side and idly noting his second rocket streaking wide to impact the cliff face behind the tank before the grenade went off with a concussive blast. It was fortunate that blargian grenades seemed to be focused more on explosive power rather than producing shrapnel, otherwise they'd both be dead due to their close proximity to the blast radius. As it was, Ellen groaned with the aching pain of being sent flying once again as she rolled off of the disgruntled lombax upon which she landed. There was no time for words though, as the tank had finally cottoned on to their presence and opened fire on their position.

Splitting apart, Ratchet distracted the armoured vehicle with more aimed rocket fire lashing at the turret while Ellen decided to break out her new weapon. The Glove of Doom, though visually similar to the Bomb Glove other than the red colouration, was a far more potent weapon. Palming a silver orb that made up the weapon's projectile, Ellen hurled it as close to the tank as possible; watching as it bounced to a halt before giving a small shudder. The metal egg split apart to reveal four tiny, two-legged robots with comically big heads and raspy cackling emitting from their vocalisers as they charged the tank before detonating spectacularly on contact. They were like hyper-violent toddlers in a cute but fugly kind of way, but Ellen approved of the results nevertheless; one desecrated tank and a surprised looking lombax to boot.

"Kill stealer."

She stuck her tongue out at him before moving on smugly. If he was going to act childishly so could she; see how he likes it.

Approaching the bolt cranks, Ratchet habitually burned down any foliage that could be used as a hiding spot on his side while Ellen simply prodded the thickets with her machine pistol on her route; both having nothing to show for their caution over than a single blarg each who were quickly eliminated. Turning the bolt cranks simultaneously, the two halves of the bridge above extended to form one whole structure and the pair were soon off again. Ascending the craggy tree-lined stepped slope in front brought the lombax and human past a small abandoned bunker and onto the bridge itself which was crossed without further delay, where the commando from earlier stood looking across the gap towards the fortress beyond on the far side. How he got there so fast past all the blarg forces is a mystery that will probably never be solved.

"Blasted thing, it won't budge!" Turning to acknowledge their presence, the novalian soldier gestured across the glaring gap between them and a bolt crank on the far side. "I've tried everything I know short of nuclear weaponry." He paused in thought, perhaps briefly considering it before dismissing the idea entirely. "hmmm... no, never mind."

Ratchet shrugged before turning to leave. "Well, you tried. See ya."

"_Not_ so fast soldier. You're going into that compound even if I have to _throw_ you!"

Taking a look around, the commmando's eyes lit up upon spying a riveted metal ducting extending from the bridge head and around the corner. "Aha! That ventilation shaft leads to the turret platform. Soldier, find a way to use that shaft to infiltrate the compound undetected!" While Clank contemplated how to accomplish such a feat, Ellen was busy trying to not burst out laughing at the unintentional innuendo. "You've shown bravery by making it this far, soldier, and for that I reward you." The moustached soldier pulled an infobot from behind his back and placed it down in front of the three. "I intercepted this communiqué that you might find useful; take it. I'm off to find my battalion. Good luck." With a parade ground salute, the commando marched off while Ratchet, Ellen and Clank gathered around to view the message.

"Hello once again fellow blarg, I hope this message finds you well!" The jovial figure of Chairman Drek addressed the camera on the bridge of a large spaceship, the half-formed husk of a planet surrounding a molten core hanging low in the background amongst the stars. "As many of you know, our home planet is no longer habitable. We've abandoned our factories, our laboratories and our _happy_ lives because of the _encroaching_ pollution; leaving much behind." A montage of images flashed by as Drek spoke; depicting a bleak looking poisonous planet mixed in with computers and various advanced looking technology. "Fortunately the nearby planets will supply us with _all_ we need to create our new home, which is nearing completion! Once our scientists locate the ideal orbit, our new world will be perfect! So reserve your space now, prime locations are filling up fast. Good day!"

The brief infomercial ended and Clank stored the infobot before turning towards his lombax companion. "Now do you understand why we must stop him? He will not rest until he has destroyed every planet in the galaxy!"

Ratchet raised a brow. "Yeah, well I got bigger fish to fry"

"Bigger than the galaxy, Mr hero?" Ellen sardonically asked while stood leaning back on one leg with her arms folded and a level unreadable gaze that made the lombax shift uncomfortably.

"Well, different fish anyway." With a sigh he gestured towards the metal ducting. "Look, didn't that commando guy said we can get into that compound?"

Clank nodded. "Yes, by using the ventilation shaft. But we will require specialised equipment to walk on that."

Ratchet gestured towards the gap. "Couldn't we jump that? Get a running start and I bet one of us could boost the other over."

One look over the edge was enough to reignite Ellen's fear of heights and shoot the idea down. "No way. That's one _hell_ of a drop if we don't get it right first time, and I don't think my Grapple Gun could reach the other side."

The lombax merely rolled his eyes in return. "Fine, let's get going then. We'll come back later."

More than a little put out, the three commandeered a nearby abandoned hover-skiff parked near the ventilation shaft - possibly the commando's transport - and rode it back to the small dry dock near their landing zone. In the sheltered seclusion of the cockpit, the miserably wet trio sat with the thermostat set high as the galaxy map materialised on the navigation console. With two potential destinations, they had to make a decision as to what to do first; raid the test site on Gaspar for the pilot helmet Ratchet had his eyes set on, or check out an abandoned refinery on planet Orxon for salvageable tech and clues to Drek's whereabouts. After a brief argument, consensus was grudgingly achieved and the former tour shuttle lifted off for their next destination. Hopefully the weather would be better this time.

* * *

**Is Ratchet finally coming around despite being a stubborn ass? Find out next time, where we get to experience the joys of branching story missions and back tracking. Hooray!**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	12. Chapter 12: Diversions & Demolition

**Author****'****s note:**

**Back again everyone, though I****'****m sorry to say this chapter is a bit on the short side compared to previous offerings. I****'****ve decided to try to keep to canon as much as possible, but I intend to keep backtracking to a minimum. I hate doing it in game; why would I want to write extensively about it? So yeah, getting this one out the way with now so that the next few chapters will run in sequence without constantly hopping back and forth between planets just to follow narrative causality. As you do.**

**Review replies:**

**anonymous - Yep, and so is this one.**

**destiny - Don****'****t worry about it, I****'****m just glad you like the chapter.**

** ReginaDC21 - Not this chapter I****'****m afraid, you****'****ll have to wait until the next chapter for the big reveal and a few other things as well. Revenge will most definitely be sweet.**

**Glad your sister didn****'****t lose anything. Just goes to show that it pays to have a physical copy of your work rather than just relying on the digital version. I****'****m sure your dad will come round with time, he****'****s just being cautious is all, and rightly so. You could always offer to let him vet any correspondence if that helps.**

**Sonachgirl - Why, thank you. Sometimes the good stories seem to be buried deep in the archives, it****'****s just a case of digging them out. Other times they simply don****'****t exist, in which case the old adage rings true; If you can****'****t find one, make one. It****'****s one of the reasons I started this story in the first place, because I thought I could do better than some of the stories I read. Of course it****'****s a lot harder than it looks, but I****'****m slowly getting there.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - Yes he can, but his endearing personality makes up for it. Eventually**

**Thank you and a warm welcome to TheMountainandTheVolcano for adding this story to your favourites along with Sonachgirl who is also following along with pwgriffen, as well as all you regulars who favourite and follow. Seriously, thank you all for your continued support.**

**I aspire to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Like I said, this feels a bit short****…**** But there****'****s not a lot I can do about that now. Here****'****s Chapter 12**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 12: **

**Diversions &amp; Demolition**

* * *

**Blarg Depot, Gaspar**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**1:34pm local time**

"Well," Ellen quipped, "at least it's not raining."

To be honest, what little rainfall Gaspar might experience would quickly be turned to vapour by the constantly boiling temperature of the predominantly volcanic planet. To keep Ratchet happy and prevent further arguments, it had been decided to try and obtain the pilot helmet from this remote outpost on the edge of the galaxy before moving on to Orxon. The trouble was that the blarg operation on the otherwise deserted world was a lot bigger than anticipated. Swarms of cargo haulers criss-crossed under the bronze-hued sky, while a massive utilitarian facility protected by heavy anti-ship gun batteries lay nestled between the few pieces of unclaimed rocky ground amongst the sporadic, yet hardy plant life and the sea of burning orange lava that covered the planet's surface.

The raised plateau upon which they had landed gave an unrivalled view of the surrounding area, and something that piqued Ellen's interest to their far right. "Look over there. You see what I see?"

Hovering less than ten feet above the lava was one of the interplanetary bombers they had seen attacking Batalia, docked beside a large tower with a thick, snaking fuel line attached to the front of the hull just below the cockpit. It would seem that other than being used as a research station for their fighter programme, the Gaspar depot also doubled as a refuelling and staging ground for further blarg attacks on the neighbouring planets.

"And now we know where the bombers came from," Ratchet murmured to himself. "Security looks a lot tougher than I thought too, we'd need to find a way to keep 'em busy while we swipe the helmet from under their noses."

Looking between the roving patrols of combat drones down below and the docked vessels, an idea began to form in Ellen's mind on how to both help the people of Batalia and get Ratchet's coveted prize. "What if you managed to sabotage the ships while they refuelled? I bet that would draw the guards attention and allow me to slip by, nick the helmet if it's still there, and get out before they know what hit them. That, and taking out their ability to refuel should slow down their attack on Batalia as well."

Ratchet was more than a little dubious about letting Ellen go off on her own again, especially if he had to take that stupid bucket of bolts with him as well, but had to admit her plan made sense. Besides, with him taking most of the heat - figuratively and literally - she should have little trouble getting inside the main depot. "Alright, we'll do it your way," he sighed before looking at her intently. "Just wait for my signal before you move in, and whatever you do... be careful, okay?"

Both human and lombax stocked up at a nearby Gadgetron vendor, neglecting the new item on sale. A novelty boxing glove? Really? Why bother with a Walloper when they already had their own melee weapons? Fully loaded, Ellen stepped over to lean against one of the supports for the cargo elevator that linked the plateau to the ground below while Ratchet walked to a ledge overlooking the lava before taking a final look back. While the lombax still had issues with Clank, at least he seemed willing to put them aside temporarily for the sake of their mission; though whether that was because of the potential reward for this little escapade or that the human and robot were finally getting through to him about where his priorities should lay was unclear. Either way, with a half grin of anticipation and a running jump, Ratchet soared through the sulphur-tainted air over the lava to land on a small cargo platform below with the aid of Clank's Heli-Pack upgrade.

Turning around, the lombax cupped his hands to his mouth as he shouted up to his human companion. "Don't forget to watch out for the guards on your way in! Call me if you get any trouble, otherwise I'll see you back at the ship!"

Ellen chuckled dryly as she looked down on him from her vantage point. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! Now go on you, go blow things up. I know you want to."

Not needing anymore encouragement, Ratchet flashed her a winning smile before turning tail and bounding away; using his Swingshot on some conveniently placed Versa-Targets to swing his way to the first refuelling station. Landing on a docking platform filled with hardened shipping crates and a quartet of hydrogen fuel cells, he quickly realised that there were in fact two bombers docked at the refuelling station, with a token guard of what looked like blue, mechanical versions of sandsharks roaming at the base of the tower. Quickly smashing through the drones with his wrench, Ratchet paused to consider the closest atmospheric bomber on the lower tier of the station; his eyes taking in the ribbed fuel line attached to a stout, silver hydrogen fuel pump set a short distance away.

A smile split his face as the lombax chuckled darkly, frankly worrying Clank as he equipped his Bomb Glove. "One distraction coming right up..."

{()}

Ellen could feel the pressure wave from the explosion all the way back at the ship as she used a tree to steady herself. In the near distance, the closest refuelling station went up like an oil refinery; the fuel lines rupturing into an inferno that annihilated the docked bombers where they sat. Debris rained down on the lava ocean as klaxons blared all over the main facility and dropships full of troops and first responders flocked to the scene; leaving the human momentarily gawping at the spectacle.

_'Bloody hell fuzz ball! You don't do things by half, do you?'_

With the locals attention successfully diverted elsewhere, Ellen took the cargo elevator down to the sulphur-encrusted ground below to begin her own task; a half-dozen of the sandshark-like drones charging straight at her with their jaws snapping no sooner had she stepped off the lift. This kind of situation was almost becoming routine to the human as she tossed a few bombs into the pack before finishing off the remainder with her Blaster and stepping past. One of the agile yellow-painted, bullet-slinging robots of the same type previously seen on Batalia was waiting near to an unoccupied gun turret and a small field generator that continued to spit out more drones to replace those lost.

A concentrated burst from her machine pistol shut down the generator as Ellen nimbly weaved between the attacking wave of drones and ducked into a roll to avoid the gun-toting robot's opening salvo. Reaching the turret, a cursory glance showed that the controls were thankfully very simple; allowing the human to swivel the heavy weapon platform around in a 360 degree arc and use the twin-linked guns to pound the robot and surrounding drones into scrap metal before concentrating fire on a reinforced security door off to one side. With a suitable way forward, Ellen raked what mechanised security measures she could see through the ruptured portal before dismounting the gun and stepping through to the other side.

A dull click alerted her to a small, spindly-limbed hovering drone that quickly folded into a ball and charged straight at her. With memories of Qwark's smart mines on Umbris foremost in her thoughts, Ellen watched the kamikaze machine shrug off her Blaster fire as it homed in unerringly. Lashing out with her Versa Blade, the redhead actually managed to repulse the drone's advance; coupling the knife's enhanced cutting feature with wide slashes until the machine simply fell to pieces under the assault. Pausing only to let out a breath, a second massive explosion followed by a fireball that briefly lit up the horizon spurred the human into action once more. It seemed that Ratchet's diversion might be a bit more effective than anticipated, and it would be a small miracle if there was much of the depot left by the time he was finished.

Following the path bordered by a cliff face and a lake of lava around the corner, Ellen almost ran head first into another one of the acrobatic yellow-painted robots. In a flash, she cleanly sliced through the barrel of its gun with her Versa Blade; rendering it useless as she switched over to her machine pistol and held down the trigger. At such close range, the rounds easily perforated the machine's armoured body; the human using it as a shield to absorb the blast from one of the self-immolating drones while she sprayed rounds at another, finally dropping it a scant few feet away. Across a small lava filled gap in the path another automatic rifle-toting robot opened fire, forcing the redhead to seek cover behind some metal piping running up the cliff face before slinging a few bombs its way.

Crossing the gap with a flying leap, she found herself knee deep in yet more sandshark inspired drones; two quickly falling to her Blaster while a third had its legs cut out from beneath with her Versa Blade. A sharp screaming pain tore through the human's left arm as a fourth gave her a nasty bite, clamping down hard before darting back for another run. With a screech of agonised fury fuelled by adrenaline, the redhead pivoted on one foot as she stepped into the attacking drone's space and jammed her knife into its head almost to the point of severing it in half. Breathing raggedly, Ellen destroyed the nearby drone-spewing generator with a well thrown bomb before picking off the last of the recently spawned machines with her Blaster. Taking a moment to rest, Ellen checked her wound only to sigh in relief as the nanites in her bloodstream administered pain relief and sealed the deep bite mark at a vastly accelerated rate. It was still going to scar though.

The way into the main facility was blocked by another of those incredibly thick security doors which she evidently couldn't open. The solution came in the form of another unmanned gun turret on an isolated platform in the middle of the lava lake, only reachable via a narrow, sloping ramp made up of sulphuric rock. The ascent was marred by more of the bomb balls - as Ellen had dubbed them in her mind - clustering together or attacking individually with every step up the crumbling path way, but it was nothing she couldn't handle with enough firepower backing her up.

Battered, bruised, and more than a little tired, the determined human clambered on to the gun turret and pointed it towards the main entrance before pulverising the armoured door and anyone unfortunate enough to be stood behind it. Stepping down from the still cooling heavy weapon platform, she took a breath of the stiflingly humid air before traipsing back down the ramp toward the now open doorway and her next destination. Watching yet another dropship wing its way over head towards the increasing number of funeral pyres on the depot's perimeter, Ellen couldn't help but feel concern for her friends.

_'I really hope Ratchet doesn't do anything too stupid. Please, come back safely. Both of you...'_

{()}

Ratchet was having a blast. Literally.

One little bomb was all it took to make the most awesome explosions he'd ever seen, and by the time the local security forces responded he was already at his next target. The best thing though, he reflected as he left the second refuelling tower in flames, was that it took his mind off of Qwark for a little while and took some of the heat off of Ellen. Following the crumbling path around the edge of a tall rocky peak set in the lava, Ratchet swatted away the few drones that blocked his path before using his Bomb Glove to wipe out the pack guarding a platform with a large cargo elevator on the far side.

Taking the lift down to what passed for sea level, the lombax launched a rocket at the pump supplying one of the warships on the upper level of the next fuel station before stepping off and running towards the dock jutting from the end of the platform in order to escape the escalating destruction he had wrought. A tossed bomb blew the fuel line and the attached bomber to pieces at the end of the dock, leaving Ratchet to Swingshot across to the fourth and final tower, which also happened to be the biggest. The blargian security forces seemed to realise this too, as their dropships began to deploy troops at the base of the refuelling tower to cut him off and protect the remaining atmospheric bombers at anchor.

Not wasting time, Ratchet took off at a rapid pace as soon as his feet touched the ground; his Pyrocitor immolating a pack of the sandshark-like drones before a bomb tossed underhand ruptured the nearest fuel pump. The explosion managed to knock one of the dropships out of the sky and took out a few of the robot soldiers standing too close to the blast, allowing him to continue circling the tower in an anti-clockwise direction. One of the agile yellow-painted robots dropped directly into the lombax's path, only to be laid into with an Omni-Wrench before it could even get a shot off. Two more stood protectively in front of one of the hydrogen fuel pumps, but were soon sent sprawling into the lava when Ratchet somersaulted in mid-air; angling a bomb to hit the base of the pump and detonating the vulnerable device in one fell swoop before moving on.

By now half the fuel platform was engulfed in flames, Ratchet putting on a burst of speed to finish the job before he became a roast lombax. A gaggle of combat drones charged with snapping jaws only for the initial wave to be torched by his flamethrower; the rest vaulted over and ignored as the lombax veered left past the third pump and tossed a bomb behind him without looking. The pressure wave from the nearby blast staggered everyone left on the platform, even as the remaining dropships began to retreat from the lost cause. Thankfully this meant the last bomber was unguarded since the robots were too busy evacuating the platform to bother, and allowed Ratchet to throw one last bomb before sprinting the hell away.

Between the amount of damage caused to the platform, the leaking fuel lines filled with volatile hydrogen fuel, and the live ordinance on the downed bombers, it was pretty clear that things were about to go 'boom' big time; and it was time to be somewhere else. Nimbly leaping across chunks of debris floating on the surface of the surrounding lava, Ratchet made it across to a small circular platform with a hover-skiff parked alongside as he turned back to admire his handiwork.

It started with a small spark at one of the ruined pumps igniting the still flowing fuel line; the unbearable heat from the fireball reacting to the nigh twenty tonnes of ordinance scattered around the broken remains of the downed bomber to which it was attached. What followed was a chain reaction as everything that was flammable or could possibly explode detonated in a spectacular pillar of flame and broken steel; almost blinding the lombax with an intensity that could clearly be seen for miles around.

Not wanting to stick around when the reinforcements finally showed up, Ratchet backed the hover-skiff out of its makeshift moorings and piloted it across the lava. Taking a circuitous route, he idly noted the increase in air traffic as armed ships congregated over the destroyed refuelling stations in droves while internally being thankful that none had spotted him in his currently vulnerable position. Cutting close to the main facility, the lombax passed through an archway under the main depot before bringing the skiff in to dock at an expansive area of the sulphur encrusted rock that passed for land on this planet; an abandoned turret sitting in the middle along with broken robot bodies and a shattered security door set in the perimeter wall to his immediate left.

_'Guess Ellen's been here already. I Just hope she doesn't run in more to any trouble.'_

{()}

A brief elevator ride saw Ellen faced with an archway leading into a store room crammed full of robot parts and a charging pack of combat drones bearing down on her precarious position. With her back to the figurative wall, the human quickly targeted the incoming machines with brief burst of fire but was unable to drop more than half their number before they were upon her position. Drawing her Versa Blade, she ducked under the nearest drone's lunging strike before bringing her knife up in an arcing swing that sliced it in half. A second got a boot to the face which staggered it long enough for her to jam her blade into a third's head and sever its central processor. The second regained its footing and attempted to charge again only to be shot point blank with a Blaster, along with a fourth who had attempted to flank the human.

Catching her breath, Ellen moved cautiously into the room only for three of the bomb balls to ambush her from their hiding places among the stock. Back-pedalling frantically, she sprayed the suicidal machines with her machine pistol before switching to her Bomb Glove and spamming them with explosives. With that unpleasantness over, the redhead exited the store room on the far side and took the curving metal ramp beyond up to what turned out to be a tank hanger; a good dozen of the armoured war machines lined up on either side of the elongated room along with stacks of crates.

Slowly entering the hanger with her Blaster raised, Ellen couldn't help but feel uneasy as her footsteps echoed unnaturally loud in the permeating silence; a caution that was warranted since four of the agile yellow-painted combat robots flipped sideways out of their hiding spots among the tanks in the blink of an eye and opened fire in unison. The redhead punched her machine pistol towards the closest hostile, holding down the trigger and taking it down even as she dove into cover behind a stack of rapidly degrading crates while tracer fire lashed over the immediate area. Peeking around the bullet ridden containers, the human noted that the mechanical soldiers had ducked back behind the tanks to reload in sync, giving her an opportunity to move to new cover and get the drop on the enemy.

She'd barely hunkered down beside a tank on the opposite of the glorified corridor when the robots flipped out of cover once again to deluge her previous position. Equipping her Bomb Glove, Ellen tossed an explosive surprise at the gun-wielding robot leaning out from behind an adjacent tank a few metres ahead and managed to tag him with the blast radius. This of course focused all remaining fire on her current position, forcing the human to duck and hiss out several choice curses as bullets pinged off of the armoured vehicle's thick armour plating.

When the torrent of fire eased up, Ellen rounded her cover and ran forward with her Blaster raised and ready; dropping the robot directly in front of her with a concentrated burst of fire and ducking down behind another tank just as the other machine tried to get a bead on her. Not letting up, the human waited for but a heartbeat after the stream of incoming fire ceased before rising up and sprinting towards the last robot soldier's position as he reloaded. The machine noticed her just as she rounded the corner of the tank he was sheltering behind; raising his weapon far too late as she let a bomb fly on a flat trajectory that impacted him square in the chest. Once the muffled explosion finished echoing through the hanger, silence returned to envelope the rapidly breathing human as she took stock of the situation.

_'After all that, this helmet better be worth it.'_

Leaving the tank hanger on the far side, Ellen began to descend the ramp leading back down to ground level only to slow to a halt before the next room. Peeking around the doorframe, she could make out some kind of command room with maps of different planets displayed on massive screens on the circular walls; a gun turret inexplicably sitting in the middle along with six more of the agile yellow-painted war robots standing ready with their automatic rifles poised to fire.

_'Guess they heard the ruckus upstairs after all, but how to get past them...'_

A sudden thought made the redhead blink before a small smile crept on to her face. Retreating back up the ramp a little, she switched to her Glove of Doom before setting one of the thrown projectiles on the steel slope and letting it go. The waiting mechanised sentries stiffened visibly at the sound of clanking metal on the ramp leading down to the command room; rifles shouldered and sighted upon... a metal sphere? Six automatic weapons followed the innocuous ball as it lost momentum and rolled to a stop at one of the robot's feet. Had emotion been part of its programming, the mechanical soldier would have experienced confusion followed by surprise as the metallic silver egg cracked open to eject a quartet of rapidly expanding two-legged drones with overly large heads. The closest one stared up at the robot for a split second before sinking its surprisingly sharp-toothed maw into his leg and promptly exploding.

Hearing the familiar cackling and dull explosions from her tiny mechanical terrors, Ellen stormed into the room and made a bee line straight for the turret. With the robot guards busy, she ducked as a few stray rounds struck the wall over her head before climbing aboard the static heavy weapon platform and turning the guns around to blast the remaining enemies. With the room clear, the human took the chance to examine the maps projected on the big screens around the concentric room; Novalis, Kerwan, Aridia, and Batalia all being represented, along with one that wasn't familiar.

_'Orxon... That's the planet that commando gave us coordinates to. I wonder what the blarg are hiding there...'_

Feeling the very floor beneath her rumble in protest as the sound of a distant explosion reverberated throughout the room, Ellen returned her focus back to the job at hand. Ratchet had to be running out of targets to blow up knowing his trigger happy nature, meaning she had to get a move on before his diversion came to a premature end. Pointing the gun turret towards the heavy security door blocking the only other exit from the room, Ellen punched a hole through the reinforced plating before dismounting and making her way through to what looked like the testing site from the first infobot they'd seen on Batalia. To the left was the launch ramp with the train track-like rails running along the length; while the mostly intact remains of the orange blarg fighter craft had been dragged to rest on the right side of the extended platform, along with various crates and mangled debris from previous tests.

The ricochet from a bullet striking near her boot kicked the human's survival instincts into overdrive as she dove behind the wrecked ship to escape yet another robot trying to perforate her hide. Waiting for a lull in the automatic gunfire, she tossed a pair of bombs around her impromptu cover before ducking back to await the results. Two solid explosions followed by a metallic cry confirmed the machine was down, and she tentatively made her way around the ruined blarg fighter with eyes peeled and Blaster drawn. It was just as well really, because another one was stood waiting around the other side; along with a pair of the bomb ball drones that instantly homed in on her.

Drilling the centre mass of the robot soldier with her machine pistol, Ellen back-pedalled frantically as the suicidal machines closed in with a single-minded purpose while she peppered them with rounds. One blew up from absorbing the sheer volume of fire she had sent down range, but the remaining drone continued to close in even as her Blaster clicked empty. Drawing her Versa Blade once more, Ellen kept the semi-intelligent bomb at bay with several sweeping slashes before driving the knife up to the hilt through the metallic carapace where the small head usually protruded. Thankfully she seemed to have hit something critical, since the machine stilled and sparked for a few seconds before finally losing power and dropping to the deck with a resounding thump.

Seeing an offshoot from the main testing site, Ellen followed the platform to an area next to a mid-sized cargo elevator filled with crates, aircraft parts, and - most importantly - the elusive pilot helmet; sat in a pile of other discarded junk along with the scorched remains of a previous model and a few interesting odd pieces. Relieved that the journey hadn't been for nought, the human scooped up the helmet before trying it on. It didn't _feel_ like it did anything... Maybe it only worked when the wearer was inside a blarg made fighter? Either way, she grabbed a few other items of interest to the engineering part of her mind before taking the elevator down and away from the test site. The lift deposited Ellen at the top of a small incline leading down to the first gun turret she'd used to blast through a security door; near to which a nervously pacing lombax and a patiently standing robot waited near to a parked hover-skiff.

"Hey guys, guess what I found?"

Relief coloured Ratchet' face as he dashed to intercept her. "Ellen, you're alright! And you got the pilot helmet too!"

The redhead removed the helmet from her head before handing it over to the now excitable lombax as he fussed over his new toy; Clank seeming to nod in approval. "Indeed. Since the retrieval was a success, I believe we should make haste before the blarg discover our deception."

The human nodded at the little silver robot's missive, the three making their way back to their ship as they continued to converse; Clank storing the components Ellen had permanently borrowed from the test site while Ratchet fiddled with the pilot helmet, only to grow increasingly frustrated. "Stupid piece of junk, probably doesn't even wor- Ow! Damn it!"

Shaking his head at the electrically shocked lombax shaking his now stinging fingers, Clank decided to add his own thoughts. "Ratchet, do you not remember what the scientist said on the infobot recording? Perhaps the helmet only functions when the user is operating a blargian fighter craft."

Ratchet scowled down at the intelligent sentient machine. "Oh, _you think,_ genius? Since when were you an expert on blarg tech, huh?"

Ellen rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Ratchet, will you give it a rest? He's just giving you a suggestion." The lombax looked away with pursed lips, his tail flitting in irritation as she sighed aloud. "Look, we came here to get that helmet and we did; but we also managed to do some good as well. Those bombers were just the tip of the iceberg; I saw stockpiles of equipment, rows of tanks, and maps of blargian operations on several planets we've visited, plus some we haven't."

The redhead took in her companions expressions as they stopped to look back at her; Ratchet sullen but attentive while Clank looked plain worried. "The blarg must be preparing for a major offensive. We must ascertain the location of Chairman Drek and stop him before it is too late."

Ellen hummed in agreement to the his assessment; the lombax merely mumbling out something that sounded like 'fine, whatever' as they continued on.

Riding the cargo elevator back up to their landing zone, Ellen could clearly see the devastation the lombax had wrought as the towering inferno engulfing the refuelling platforms blended in with the predominantly dull-orange glow of the volcanic planet's surface. Settling back into the air conditioned comfort of the tour shuttle, Ratchet entered the only other coordinates they had yet to explore into the navigation computer before starting up the engines; Qwark's former vessel blowing up a cloud of sulphuric dust as it lifted off and accelerated towards the stars. Next stop Orxon, and hopefully some answers; both for Drek's location and Ratchet's behaviour.

* * *

**And there we have it. Next chapter will be the big one so to speak. Truths will be revealed and relationships tested as pride and ego butt heads.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	13. Chapter 13: Answers & Awkwardness

**Author****'****s note:**

**Well, this is it. The chapter you****'****ve all been waiting for. To be honest I****'****m kind of nervous about how this is going to be perceived; it seemed alright in my head, but****…**** In any case, I won****'****t say any more other than that I hope it live up to your expectations.**

**Review replies:**

**kboyer36 - I have to admit, it****'****s probably the most fun way to get one of the gold bolts in the game. Though I found the explosions a little tame considering all the flammable stuff just hanging around; hence the exaggeration. What happens when a lombax and a human get stuck together in a cramped ship? You****'****ll find out this very chapter.**

**Sonachugirl - Completely agree with you; Ratchet is a bit of an arse at this point in the game and it makes him difficult to write at times, but he****'****ll change his tune soon enough. This chapter is a bit of a turning point, and I think you****'****ll soon see why.**

**evil Ratchet96 - Glad to see you enjoying the older chapters and my occasionally childish humour. I****'****m guessing you****'****ve been out of the loop for a bit, in which case I hope you enjoy the proceeding chapters just as much. Thanks again.**

**Blair93 - Thank you, hopefully this chapter will be to you liking as well.**

**destiny - Yep, it****'****s kind of like therapy for him in a way. Thanks again.**

**BulletWitch1985 - Don****'****t worry about it. Given enough time and consideration, I****'****m sure he****'****ll come around eventually. In the meantime, keep your ideas churning and your story alive with new concepts and such. In any case, it****'****s nice to hear from you again; I****'****m just glad you didn****'****t lose anything important hen your computer went kaput.**

**Ellen will definitely be an influence on Ratchet****'****s behaviour from here on out in more ways than one. If I were to hazard a guess, it****'****s probably because there is something innately appealing about watching the destruction of an object in a pyrotechnic display that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Same reason people watch firework displays and such I guess. Qwark****'****s encounter and comeuppance draws ever nearer, but won****'****t be for a little while yet. I can think of one thing he might threaten that would push Ratchet over the edge****…**

**Hello and welcome to TheMountainandtheVolcano for adding this story to your favourites, and a big thank you as well to all you regulars who favourite and follow. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.**

**I****'****m trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Well, here goes nothing. Chapter 13 is away.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 13: **

**Answers &amp; Awkwardness**

* * *

**Kogor Refinery, Orxon**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**3:47pm local time**

After landing on the smog choked excuse for a planet, things had started to go down hill rapidly. Opening the canopy on the shuttle had bought the realisation that the thick green haze tingeing the air was hazardous to ones health if the sudden inflammation and constriction of Ratchet and Ellen's throats followed by burning lungs was anything to go by. Unlike his organic companions however, Clank was entirely unaffected by the poisonous atmosphere. After slipping out of the vessel, he could only watch as the cockpit was hastily resealed and emergency Nanotech packs were broken out to stem the damage done to his friends respiratory systems.

Five long minutes later, the exterior speaker underneath the shuttle's nose crackled in to life as Ellen's voice filtered through. "Clank, can you hear me? We're alright."

Her voice was slightly scratchy, but if what little Clank could see of her upper body from where he stood was anything to go by, then she was in good health relatively speaking. "I am fine. The environment does not appear to impede my functionality. However, continued exposure would prove lethal for most organic life forms."

"Well it looks like we're stuck here for the time being," the human sighed. "Do you think you could-"

"Make yourself useful and find some gasmasks."

"Ratchet!"

There was a brief fumbling in the cockpit and static on the loudspeaker before Ellen's voice came through clearly again. "If you could, that would be great." She paused briefly to glare at the unseen lombax. "But your main priority should be to see if you can find any clues. Don't do anything risky. If you run in to trouble, get back to the ship and we'll all get out of here, alright?"

Clank nodded cordially. "I will endeavour to do my best. I will return soon."

With that, the small robot took off in a loping run to the interior of an abandoned facility next to their landing zone that was bordered by mutated vegetation and disappeared from sight. This left Ratchet and Ellen with a lot of time to kill and only a small cockpit to share. With unspoken agreement, they took the small service hatch that led in to the surprisingly spacious cargo bay in order to find something to occupy their minds. Qwark had apparently left a lot of crap behind when he'd abandoned his headquarters, the shuttle being full of crates of random mostly useless stuff. A box full of signed copies of his autobiography, exercise equipment, some dubious choices of magazines were among some of the contents; although the worst of all was a set of duplicate spandex suits to replace his own. Ellen felt the urge to wash her hands from just looking at them, shuddering involuntarily at the sight of the partially sullied garments and swiftly moving on.

That said, a few of the boxes did contain machinery and spare parts that could have been used to build something useful if they actually had some tools other than a wrench and a knife. Needless to say, it didn't take long for either of them to grow bored; and so they each sat on a crate facing each other on opposite sides of the cargo bay, both trying to think of what to say in order to break the awkward silence.

"So..."

"So?"

"You want to tell me what your problem is with Clank? You've been on his case since Umbris."

The lombax snorted. "Problem? My _problem_ is that he nearly got us all killed! All this time trying to find Qwark and the dolt walks us straight in to a trap!"

The redhead sat across from him frowned. "Hey, it's not his fault Qwark's a back stabbing little bitch. If I remember right you were the first to line up for a chance at adventure; to see the galaxy, explore new worlds, the whole spiel."

Ratchet grimaced with a bitter look on his face. "Yeah, but that was before Captain jerk-off tried to kill us. I can't believe I ever fell for his little speech. _'Hero material' _my ass; all I wanna do right now is find him and take him down for good."

Ellen rubbed her tired eyes with a sigh. "And we will, but right now you need to focus on what's in front of us. Without Qwark, it's just the three of us against Drek and his entire army. We can't afford to stand apart; only as a team do we stand any chance of stopping his plans."

The lombax folded his arms indignantly. "Great, now you're starting to sound like the walking computer. Why are you even defending him all the time anyway, it's his fault we're in this mess to start with!"

The human stared at him poignantly, her level gaze slightly unsettling. "Because he's my friend. Both of you are. I'm stranded millions of miles from home and you two are the only constants in my life right now. To have one blame the other the other for something beyond his control is... unsettling, and right now we need to be united if we're to have any chance of surviving."

"You want me to play nice with mister-I'm-so-smart out there? What good is he anyway, other than causing us trouble?"

Ellen leaned forward with a darkening mood. "He's only a few days old for Christ's sake! He makes one little mistake while trying to the right thing and you ostracise him! Why are you blaming him when you're as responsible as him when it comes to Qwark?" Ratchet mumbled something while averting his eyes, the redhead leaning further forward while straining to hear. "Sorry Ratchet, what was that?"

"Because I'm scared, okay?!"

Ellen froze in confusion. Ratchet, the first in to a brawl or any dangerous situation was _afraid?_ "Scared, you? Scared of what?"

His eyes roved up to look in to her own, a hint of resignation within as he swallowed before continuing. "Ever since you blew up that blarg ship it's been gnawing at me. I thought I'd lost you then, and when I found you safe, I... I didn't want to let you go." Ellen's brow furrowed in puzzlement. She thought he'd been a bit clingy back then, but wrote it off as relief at her survival. "Ever since then, whenever you went off on your own without me I'd worry myself sick. I'd worry about you getting into something you couldn't handle where I couldn't help. You nearly drowning on Rilgar didn't help."

The human winced at the thoroughly unpleasant memory. The surge of water was the one enemy she couldn't fight back against, and it nearly ended her for good. "The risk comes with the territory, Ratchet. Yeah, it's scary, and I wish I didn't have to do half the stuff we do, but I'm no shrinking violet either."

Ratchet held up his hands placatingly. "I know. You're a tough girl, and I'm glad you've got my back. But you also seem kinda... vulnerable too." It was one of the things he admired her for; the quiet determination that burned through the aura of sadness that he'd seen when he first laid eyes on her. It reminded him a little of himself as he grew up, their shared similarities further cementing his feelings for her.

"Ratchet, what're you saying?" Ellen couldn't help the tinge of red from touching her cheeks as he gently took her hand in one of his own; the lombax taking a deep breath and closing his eyes momentarily before reopening them.

"Ellen, I've liked you ever since we first met. Being around you, fighting alongside each other, made me realise just how lucky I am to have met a girl like you. You're smart, you're funny, you always seem to know what to say, and you know how to kick ass too." He chuckled. "Helps that you're pretty cute as well."

His emerald eyes gazed into her crystal blue orbs with an intensity she hadn't seen before from the easy going lombax. Butterflies began to churn in Ellen's stomach, his out of character behaviour making her unsure of where this was going. "Um...thanks?"

"We've come close to dying several times between us already, and I honestly don't know if our luck is gonna hold. That's why I need to tell you while I can." He leaned closer, his fingers still intertwined with hers as he swallowed his doubts and said the words he both yearned and dreaded to say.

"Ellen, I... I'm in love with you."

...

"Wait... What...?"

"I've known for a while now," he continued quietly, no longer daring to look her in the eye for fear of rejection. "I have never known a girl like you, Ellen Pearce, and I probably never will again. I know you're already... involved, but I wanted you to know how I feel instead of keeping it bottled up." He sighed in resignation while rubbing his eyes with his gloved palms. "I'll find a way to get you back to Earth and your-" He grimaced in envy. "-boyfriend, I promise. Guess your Simon has good taste in girls, huh?"

...

There was an awkwardly long silence that stretched out in the confined space of the cargo bay while Ratchet stewed in his thoughts. He'd done it; he'd bared his soul to the one girl he loved above all else. He only hoped that she would see how much these feelings weighed down on him, how they occupied his every waking thought. The idea of losing her to another was heartbreaking, but- Was she... laughing?

It had started as a chuckle as Ellen's features softened from the shock of Ratchet's heartfelt confession, gradually degenerating in to giggling and finally genuine laughter. Ratchet honestly felt hurt. He'd expected rejection, but did she have to rub it in like this? What exactly did she find so funny? rubbing a tear from her eye, Ellen managed to control her laughing fit long enough to meet the dejected visage of her lombax companion, his ears drooping and his eyes dull.

"Ratchet, you silly, stupid bastard, I don't have a boyfriend."

She took his hands in her own as Ratchet's ears perked up in confusion. "So who the hell is Simon?"

She smiled sadly. "He's my brother."

Somewhere across the universe, the sound of a needle scratching across a record could be heard.

"He... you... how... what?" He shook his head. "All this time...and I was jealous of your _brother?_"

Ellen snickered softly before patting the bamboozled lombax gently on one shoulder. "Stranger things have happened. Hell, the last few days have been the craziest experience of my life. I'm curious though, how did you know my brother's name? I'm pretty sure I never told you."

Ratchet shifted on his seat, still more than a little embarrassed, but glad the human hadn't blown him off entirely. "I kinda overheard you mention him on Novalis. You know, when I asked if you wanted to hang back and you stormed ahead anyway?"

Not exactly her finest moment, but then again he was almost as headstrong as her, if not more. They had quite a lot in common really now she thought about it some more, and he was a damn good friend. But did she feel the same about him as he did for her? Could a relationship even work between two different species? And what about Earth and her family? She couldn't just leave it all behind, and the lombax had promised to help find a way home for her.

"Ratchet, we've only known each other for a short time, and I don't know how this could work. Assuming we find a way to get me home, what then? I mean, we're talking seriously long distance relationship here, it's not like I can just hop on a spaceship and come visit when I feel like it."

"Do you feel the same way?"

Ellen blinked. "Huh?"

Ratchet clarified. "About me. Do you feel the same way about me as I do with you?"

She hesitated, the words stuck in her throat. "I... I don't know. But..." She raised a hand at the lombax's faltering expression. "I'd like to try. I've never been in a serious relationship before, and I don't know how it could last, but-"

The golden-furred feline silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Hey, don't worry about what could be, only what's happening right now. Much as I hate to say it, each day could be our last, and should be lived to the fullest. We'll... just take this one step at a time, at your own pace, and see how things go, alright?"

Ellen chuckled. "And I thought Clank was supposed to be the smart one, you say that to all the girls you date?"

He smirked as he dropped off of his crate only to haul himself up to sit beside her. "Only the cute ones like you."

"Flatterer."

They both had a good chuckle before lapsing in to a comfortable silence, the warmth of Ratchet's golden fur radiating against the exposed portions of Ellen's comparatively pale skin. "Your brother, Simon, he's the one that taught you how to use a blade, right?" With her confirmation the lombax continued. "Figured as such, but why's he make you sad? Did you guys have a falling out, or..." He tailed off as her eyes began to glisten with tears, a few drops already marring her cheeks. "Ellen?"

"He's gone, Ratchet."

"Gone?"

"He-he died, about a week ago. We only got the news a few days afterwards and... and..." The rest was drowned out by sobbing as several days of pent up grief and frustration came pouring out.

Ratchet wrapped a gloved arm around her and gently rubbed her back as she leaned into his embrace. "Shh, shh. It's alright, I'm here for you."

They continued like that for a good ten minutes until Ellen's tears petered out into choked sobs while she continued to bury her face into the lombax's soft, warm chest fur. "Tell me what he was like." She looked up to see concerned emerald-green eyes inches from her own. "It helps to talk, y'know. Or, so I've heard."

Ellen drew a shuddering breath. Once again she'd broken down and moped in front of the golden furred lombax, and once again he was trying to comfort her in his own way. Maybe he was right, she'd locked these emotions away for far to long and after all they'd been through so far she knew she could trust him. "He was... a lot like you, in a way. Outspoken, cock sure of himself, and always had something to say regardless of what anyone thought."

Ratchet opened his mouth to retort before thinking better of it and staying silent. This was Ellen's time to heal her emotional wounds through remembrance, and he intended to be there for her without interruption.

"But he had a heart of gold. Simon would always drop everything and take the time to help a friend in need. Heck, he felt more like a best friend than a brother sometimes." Ellen sighed, her eyes staring off into the middle distance. "It's one of the reasons he joined the Royal Marines; to help protect people and make their lives better. Course, while he was overseas on deployment, I hardly got to see him or hear from him other than the odd phone call or E-mail. That's why I always looked forward to when he had leave after a tour in the middle east" She smiled fondly. "Simon always put family and friends first. When he came home, we'd go off camping or talk for hours on what we'd been doing on opposite sides of the world. I'd tell him about school and the local news he'd missed, while he'd regal me with his stories about his work in Afghanistan with helping the local villages."

Ellen sat up and turned to face Ratchet, the lombax listening intently. "See, Simon was an engineer in his company. Other than fighting, he spent most of his time using his knowledge to supervise community projects like building bridges and doweling for wells. He was also the first in line when dealing with IEDs."

"IEDs?"

Ellen's face fell a little. "Improvised Explosive Devices. The Taliban - the people the Marines were fighting - have a knack for leaving homemade bombs in places where soldiers frequently travel and set them off to kill as many as possible. That's how..."

Ratchet cupped her cheek. "Ellen, you don't have to say any more."

The human shook her head. "No, I need to tell you." She drew a shuddering breath before continuing. "My brother's platoon were out on patrol when the lead vehicle got hit. After that, it was Simon's job to check for any more roadside bombs since the insurgents made a habit of linking several together to target anyone who tried to help the victims of the first bomb. From what we - my family - were told, he'd just uncovered a second bomb when his squad came under attack. When one of his friends went down, he started to drag him to safety only to be shot himself." There was a mournful silence broken only by the two companions breathing. "He didn't make it. By the time a medic got him out of there he was already too far gone. We were told it was quick, but... I... I just wanted my brother back. He said he'd be home for my birthday next year, and now I'll never..."

As her speech degenerated in to more sobbing, less the tears since she's already cried herself dry, Ratchet pulled her into another hug and made soothing noises in order to calm the human's emotional turbulence. "He sounds like a great guy, wish I could have met him." She could only nod in her emotional state, not trusting her voice right now. "What about the rest of your folks? I'm sure they're almost as awesome as their kids."

Seeing Ratchet was trying to change the subject to something lighter, Ellen described her remaining immediate family. The lombax listened intently as she described her father, Trevor; a man with thick Scottish brogue and an occasionally stern outlook on life, but loved his family and would do anything to protect them. Unsurprising considering he was a former soldier who had bought up Simon alone for five years after the tragic death of his first wife. He later married Kathryn Davies, Ellen's future mother. A woman of mixed English and Welsh ancestry with a gentle manner and a kindly smile, she also had a fierce sense of pride and an occasionally short temper when stressed. Looking at the girl clutching him like a lifeline, Ratchet could definitely see some of those family traits in her. It made him wonder once more about his own family.

Hearing Ratchet sigh, Ellen broke the awkwardly comforting hug to see him looking some what distant. "Ratchet, are you all right?"

The lombax didn't meet her eyes as he replied quietly. "You know, you're kinda lucky in a way. I know you lost your brother, but you can still cherish the time you had with him, and you've still got your mom and dad back on Earth." He sighed in melancholy. "I never knew my folks. I grew up in an orphanage on Veldin, always the odd one out."

Ellen put an arm around his shoulder with concern. "I'm so sorry, I never knew."

He turned to look her in the eye, his trademark cockiness entirely absent for once as regret tinged his words. "Wouldn't expect you to, not like I advertise my whole life to the galaxy. Matter of fact, you're the first person I've talked to about it since I left the orphanage. Can't complain really; used what money I had to set up shop and made a living as a rocket mechanic ever since." A sigh of frustration escaped his lips. "I just... I just wish I knew, you know? Who my parents were, why they left me on Veldin of all places, and why I can't find squat about lombaxes anywhere. For what it's worth, I just as well be the only one left."

The red-headed girl pulled him closer so that their bodies pressed together. "Well, at least we're alone together. We're probably the only human and lombax in the Solana galaxy, but what about elsewhere? I mean, I'm from the Milky Way galaxy, so maybe there are other lombaxes out there in another galaxy altogether."

A small smile graced Ratchet's lips. "You know what? Maybe you're right. Once this whole thing is over, I'm gonna find out where my people have gone and see if they know who my family are."

Ellen returned a smile of her own. "That's the spirit. In fact, if I can't get home any time soon, then I think I'll join you. Course, you're going to have to be a lot nicer to Clank since he'll be coming too."

The lombax groaned and almost pouted childishly. "Seriously?"

She shrugged. "He's your friend too, you know; one that won't betray you and always has your back."

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "That's because he's always stuck to my back all the time unless he decides to use his legs for five minutes."

He blinked in surprise as Ellen leaned her face closer to his, an odd look in her eye that he hadn't seen before. "Uh, Ellen? What're you doing?"

The human smirked mischievously. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

He duly noted the thin, pink lips descending towards him under the shimmering crystal-blue eyes that now filled his vision. "Don't you think this is a little... soon? I thought we were gonna take it one step at a time?"

A soft giggle escaped her lips. "Whatever happened to 'we could die tomorrow'? I... I want this, Ratchet, and I know you do too."

"Ellen..."

A gloved arm encompassed Ellen's waist as she tightened her own hold in Ratchet's golden fur. Closer and closer, inch by inch, the gap between them narrowed as their lips parted in anticipation. Two hearts thumped in tandem as pulses quickened; unbridled affection turning into the most primal of energies while two sets of emerald and crystal-blue orbs stared deep into each other's souls. This was it; after such an achingly long time, Ratchet was about to express his love to the girl who had come to mean the galaxy to him. Millimetres apart, he could feel her breath upon his fur as their lips finally-

A mechanical whirring from the rear of the cargo bay signalled the ramp descending and the return of Clank. With an embarrassed flush, the human and lombax hurriedly disentangled themselves from their intimate position and stood waiting for the diminutive machine to clear the small airlock and enter the cargo bay proper. Ellen was more than a little flustered at being caught out like that in front of the innocent-minded robot while wondering what could have been. Ratchet on the other hand was cursing up a storm internally. Of all the times that damn walking trash can had to interrupt, why now? He was so close!

Clank curiously noted the elevated heart rate and flushed faces of his companions and wondered if it was a side effect of their brief exposure to the toxic atmosphere outside. "I am back. Did I... miss something?" For some reason his companion's core temperatures appeared to rise by approximately three degrees and they shifted on their feet while looking away. Most curious.

"Nope, just whiling the time away. Right, Ratchet?"

The lombax coughed awkwardly into a clenched fist. "Yeah... nothing out of the ordinary here."

Filing away their odd behaviour for later study, Clank reached into his storage compartment and produce a pair of metallic-tinged boots which he promptly tossed into Ratchet's waiting arms. "I came across these inside one of the abandoned blarg facilities. I believe we could use them to-"

Without warning, the minute sentient machine was dragged through the air by an unseen force, narrowly missing Ellen and sticking to the soles of the boots held in the surprised lombax's hands. "Hey, are you giving me these or not?

Clank narrowed his optics. "They are magnetic. I appear to be stuck to them."

"Oh."

With a deft flick, the tiny silver robot was demagnetised from his temporary predicament and sent crashing into the side of the cargo bay with enough force to knock him senseless. Wincing in sympathy, Ellen quickly reached his slumped robotic form. "You alright, Clank?"

With unfocused optics, Clank stumbled to his feet with Ellen's assistance as he rubbed his antennae-sporting dome. "I have been better, but I will recover. Thank you, Ellen." As he moved back into the cargo bay however, a soft thumping of metal on metal could be heard coming from his chest cavity storage space.

"What do you have in there?" Ratchet asked suspiciously.

The diminutive machine clasped his hands around his midsection, turning his body away while looking back at the lombax coyly. "Gears. Metal filings. Dust."

The lombax rolled his eyes. "You _know_ what I mean. What is it?"

Clank sighed in resignation. "I will show you this, but you must promise to stay focused on our mission."

So saying, he released the infobot he had acquired earlier and allowed it to float in the middle of the cargo bay. Perking up, Ratchet stepped forward with anticipation colouring his voice as all three companions crowded around to watch its contained message. "Is it something about Qwark?"

A picture perfect postcard of a tropical paradise filled with swaying palms, sparkling clear water, and sun-kissed golden beaches faded into the real thing as a slightly gravelly voice narrated. "Cities are full of smog, swamps are full of muck and dark pits are full of dark." From off screen, a nautic-green skinned, robust-looking novalian wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt, brown shorts, sandals, and a healthy helping of gold jewellery. "But here at Jowai Resort the sun shines twenty-four hours a day!" The scene changed to what looked like part of the resort if the rounded building and streetlamps in the background was anything to go by. The same novalian man held a red helmet in his left hand with a pair of yellow filters attached near the mouthpiece. "Visitors get a free O2 mask to explore our warm waters!" The scene changed once more to show him stood on a wooden dock, overlooking a some what familiar looking figure swimming through the water.

"Is that Fred, the scientist from the blarg station?" Ellen asked aloud.

Suddenly, a huge orange puffer fish came up behind the unsuspecting swimmer, only to take off in pursuit when 'Fred' realised his predicament and paddled for his life. "The _benign_ marine life will welcome you to the big, blue world under the sea." Realising that the scene taking place behind him wasn't quite the image he wanted to portray, the resort owner adjusted the camera to focus on himself and the exquisite looking holiday resort behind him. "You can also use our complimentary flippers to partake in _speed swimming!_" He chuckled nervously before the scene changed once more to the original image of the sun-kissed tropical cove. "So come to Jowai Resort and leave your world, and your troubles, behind!"

Once the screen faded to black, Clank hadn't even stored the infobot before Ratchet spoke up excitedly; a beaming smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. "_Jowai_ Resort, _Pokitaru!_"

Clank threw up his arms while turning to look at Ellen. "I _knew_ it."

Ratchet merely rolled his eyes with a groan. "Oh _come on!_ Switch off your _nerd_ circuits and have some _fun!_"

The diminutive machine remained silent, turning his back on the lombax with his arms folded and a narrow opticed scowl on his face. One that Ellen still found adorable considering his small stature. Taking a calming breath, Ratchet closed his eyes briefly before opening them. "Look, we'll go just long enough to pick up the O2 mask."

Clank rounded on his golden-furred companion with a glare. "Perhaps the extra oxygen will help your brain to function properly!"

The lombax returned a glare of his own. "Yeah, and maybe the salt water will rust your mouth shut!"

"Boys, enough bickering. We've still got a job to do". Two sets of green eyes and optics turned to their female companion who had been relatively quiet up until now.

"What do you propose we do, Ellen?" Clank asked.

Ratchet leaned back against the cargo bay wall with his arms folded. "Yeah, where'd _you_ think we should go?"

Ellen paused in consideration for a moment before carefully answering. "We need that O2 mask in order to survive on this planet and we still haven't found any leads yet, or any more planets we could visit, so we should probably head there."

Ratchet fist pumped. "Yes!"

Ignoring him, she turned her attention towards Clank. "That being said, we still have a promise to keep. One that should be dealt with first."

"Aw!"

* * *

**Fort Krontos, Batalia**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**7:58pm local time**

"Alright, you remember the plan?"

Ellen rolled her eyes. "For the hundredth time, yes! You need to stop worrying about me and focus on yourself, Ratchet. After all, you've got the hardest job out of the three of us."

After arriving back on Batalia, a commandeered hover-skiff that had somehow survived the bombardment brought them back to the ventilation system just outside the entrance of the besieged fortress; allowing them to avoid slogging through more blarg ground forces between the landing pad and their objective. The commando had been eager to get the anti-aircraft guns on the far side up and running in order to get rid of the orbiting atmospheric bombers; a task made simpler since a good portion of their numbers and means to resupply were wiped out on Gaspar. Now there were only a half-dozen or so of the lumbering black ships left patrolling in the sky, and their attacks had dropped off sharply.

The plan as such was relatively simple. Ratchet would use his new Magna-Boots in order to stick to the metal surface of the ventilation shaft and use it to get inside the fortress, where upon he would locate the bolt crank on the other side and extend the bridge for his human companion. Ellen meanwhile would stay at the bridgehead and provide support with the new weapon she had purchased at the closest Gadgetron vendor; the Visibomb Gun. The wide mouthed, silver-plated, chunky, squarish missile launcher had a pistol grip and a small TV screen located at the rear, which would give a live feed from a nose-mounted camera on each missile and allow her to guide their flight path.

"I've patched my Wrist Com's frequency into yours so we have constant two way contact. I'll call out targets if I need to, otherwise just hit whatever's trying to kill me."

Ellen nodded in agreement. "Alright, but you'd better get going. Remember; the sooner we finish up here, the quicker we get to Pokitaru."

Not needing anymore encouragement, Ratchet equipped his Magna-Boots and made his way along the ventilation shaft around the corner; moving up the nearby cliff face with all the grace of a drunken penguin as he half-waddled out of sight. Shaking her head with a small smile, Ellen brought out the Visibomb Gun from her Quick Select and braced herself in a sort of half crouch ready to fire at a moment's notice. A minute or so later, muffled grunts and a few dulled explosions filtered through the speaker on her communicator, causing her to raise a brow.

"Ratchet, you alright?"

A moment passed before his slightly distorted voice passed through. "Yeah, I'm fine. Turns out they've got some drones guarding the air ducts, nothing I couldn't handle."

With a shrug Ellen made her self comfortable as the minutes continued to tick by, making her almost wish something would attack if only to alleviate her boredom.

"I'm in. Found a hole in the fort's wall, but the courtyard's crawling with robots. Think you can give me an opening?"

The redhead flipped the safety off her Visibomb Gun and pointed the barrel skywards. "Yep. Get ready to move on my go."

Squeezing the trigger, a missile left the launch tube with a small thump before a secondary booster sent it soaring for the heavens with the control surfaces deployed. Keeping an eye on the green-tinged screen atop the weapon, Ellen used the tiny joypad on it to send the missile into a dive towards a cluster of the spindly-limbed drones and a single yellow-painted war robot with an automatic rifle clutched in its hands. "Now!"

Ratchet sprinted from his hidden position and made a beeline for the ramp leading to the battlements and the bridge controls on his right, the mechanised enemy reacting to his sudden appearance but unable to do much about it as the TV guided missile slammed into the middle of the group and blew them apart.

"Nice one, keep firing!" the lombax managed to shout over the increasing din of weapons fire being turned his way. Reaching the mid-point of the ramp, Ratchet swatted aside a pair of drones with his wrench before continuing on and finally reaching the bolt crank that extended the bridge flanked by two small and very mangled turrets mounted on raised sentry towers. "Cover me, I'm opening up the bridge!"

Letting off a second missile, Ellen waited until it reached a decent height before pitching it forward and steering a path that allowed her to observe any enemies trying to sneak up on the distracted lombax. One such group of the prevalent agile yellow-painted robots were currently storming towards the bottom of the ramp leading to where Ratchet was working. Pushing the joypad forward, the human pitched the missile into a steep dive; the nose-mounted camera rapidly filling with the advancing squad.

The close impact and resulting explosion rattled Ratchet's teeth, giving him enough pause to send a brief scowl in Ellen's general direction. "Sure you were close enough? You were practically on top of me!"

A snort of amusement proceeded a slightly distorted voice through his Wrist Com. "So were they. Would you prefer me to _let_ them shoot you?"

The lombax bit back an unflattering retort and managed to finish his task without further incident; his human counterpart jogging over the bridge as soon as it was locked into place with her missile launcher swaying unsteadily in her hands. Once safely on the other side, she soon switched to her Blaster while Ratchet equipped his Pyrocitor and the pair made their way back down into the pock-marked courtyard below. Ploughing through a second wave of the flimsy-looking drones, the duo made their way past a demolished wall that originally bisected the inside of the fortress and hopped up into the raised area beyond; only to skid to a halt as the exterior of the main keep's tower exploded outwards just in front of them. Ducking under the flying debris, Ratchet and Ellen looked up at the sound of rumbling engines; a green turret attached to an armoured chassis parting the veil of a kicked up dust cloud followed swiftly by its twin.

"Oh crap! Get back!"

With two sets of twin linked auto cannons thundering at them, neither human nor lombax needed any further incentive in running the hell away back the way they came; dropping down into the lower tiered area of the courtyard once more and hunkering down behind a pile of rubble in order to avoid becoming paste.

"We got a plan?" Ellen yelled over the din as their cover rocked from each tank shell's impact.

Ratchet simply shrugged in return. "Shoot 'em?"

Clank's input however was a little more useful. "Perhaps you could use your Visibomb Gun's guided projectile to eliminate the vehicles without exposing ourselves."

Deciding it was worth a shot, Ellen pulled out her launcher once again and fired off a missile away from both her and the patrolling tanks. Carefully banking between the ruined defence towers, she guided the missile in a lazy half circle until it faced the opposite direction and put it on a collision course for the nearest tracked vehicle. Seeing the fuel gauge on the Visibomb Gun's TV display blink empty, Ellen let it glide the last twenty or so feet to impact the side of the tank's engine block; static filing the screen and a resounding boom followed by a tank turret impacting the courtyard scant feet away from the sheltering trio signalling success. Rounding their cover, Ratchet drew his Devastator and sent rocket after rocket at the remaining tank; shredding its armour with the sheer volume of fire alone and clearing the way forward.

Moving through the ruins of the keep, the lombax took point with his Pyrocitor burning any stray drones that got close while Ellen stayed close behind with her Blaster ready. Locating another bolt crank, they swiftly turned it and revealed a doorway that led out the back of the fortress to a large cannon mounted in a rounded turret on top of a nearby islet. Crossing the small bridge to the other side, the team were met with yet another familiar face as he turned around to greet them.

"Hey, I know you three."

Ratchet grinned. "Look, the plumber's back!"

Indeed, the very same novalian they had met briefly in the water treatment plant on Novalis was now here in yet another war zone. He also didn't seem too happy at the reference to the joke about his posterior if the narrowed eyes were any clue. "_Very_ funny."

Clank looked up at the handy man with a hint of puzzlement. "What are you doing here, sir?"

The plumber smacked a fist into his open palm. "_Maintenance,_ what else? I help fix this planet's useless air defences."

Ellen blinked in confusion. "Hang on, I thought you were a plumber? No offence, but what would you know about fixing military equipment?"

He offered a slightly prideful smile in return. "Be that as it may little miss, but in my profession you're expected to fix darn near everything! Good job that I can, too."

"Well, I think you'd better hurry up," Ratchet opinioned. "The planet's getting hammered."

"The turret works fine, ya little yahoo!" the plumber shot back as he waved his hand dismissively. "It's the locals; they haven't got the skilled manpower to use it!"

Ratchet's eyes lit up. "Y'know, I'm a pretty good shot."

The surprisingly versatile plumber recoiled. "You?! No, I could lose my job..."

The lombax growled in frustration. "Oh come _on!_ What's the sense of keeping up a turret if nobody's gonna use it? Besides, the blarg chased you off the last planet. Why don't we pay 'em back?"

"Well..." The plumber seemed to consider it for a moment before finally relenting. "Alright, go on if you want. Just don't break anything."

With a gleeful bounce in his step, Ratchet quickly entered the oversized weapon platform with his companions following suit shortly behind. What followed was essentially a turkey shoot. The orbiting bombers may have had thick armour, but their slow speed combined with the fact that they were being pummelled by what amounted to a giant shotgun considering the resulting shell bursts soon resulted in their destruction. Even firing air to ground missiles at the cheerfully yellow turret didn't make any difference since they were shot down with unerring accuracy before the anti-aircraft battery returned to concentrating fire on the revolving bomb racks that circled each bomber's midsection. The only hiccup was the appearance of even bigger bomber with triple bomb racks that spewed forth a steady stream of missiles at the flak gun, though that too eventually fell to a constant pounding of explosive shells; resulting in the vessel snapping in half.

"Well, well, well. Looks like he's good for something after all." Climbing out of the turret, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank found the plumber with his hands on his hips and a hint of a smile on his face. "Here, take this."

Catching what looked like a silver dish attached to a long metal pole in his hands, Ratchet looked over the device briefly before turning his attention back to the novalian. "What is it?"

Ellen shrugged. "Looks like a metal detector."

The novalian nodded in her direction. "Exactly, 'cept this one is tuned to only detect underground bolts. My grandfather designed it to suck up loose change on any planet in the galaxy" He paused in thought for a moment with a furrowed brow. "What a cheap old man he was... Well, see ya around sometime." So saying, the plumber walked off with a wave over his shoulder.

After giving his new gadget a quick trial run which turned up a surprising amount of loosely buried bolts, the three borrowed another hover-skiff and duly made their way back to their parked ship. As Ratchet started up the vessel once more and fed in the coordinates to their next destination, a faint smile graced Ellen's lips. Though he and Clank were still at loggerheads, the lombax at least seemed to be a bit more amenable to patching things up, and of course her relationship with him had changed in a way she couldn't have foreseen. Could things work between them? She honestly didn't know, but the red-headed human was more than willing to try. Ellen was interrupted from her thoughts by the thump of the landing gear retracting, and the brief sense of weightlessness as the shuttle took off with a grinning lombax at the controls.

"Pokitaru, here we come!"

* * *

**I actually finished the chapter a little earlier than I thought and started on the next one only to realise that both would be a little on the short side; that and the second part of Batalia would drag the pace down if I kept it separate. So instead I ended up combining the two and fulfilling my weekly quota of things going boom in one fell stroke. There****'****s actually quite a lot of plot points tied up in this chapter, maybe too many to a degree, but I found it necessary with the way I have the next few chapters planned out in order to bring things to a head now while changing the dynamics of the group's relationships.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	14. Chapter 14: Palm Trees & Pollution

**Author****'****s note:**

**Not as many responses to the last chapter as I thought considering the traffic stats. That said, the reviews have been universally positive, so I guess I must be doing something right. Probably. On another note, this story has just skimmed by the half way mark! I honestly didn****'****t expect to get this far at all, let alone in the space of three months. Yay me!**

**Review replies:**

**anonymous - Enough to stuff a pillow, perhaps?**

**destiny - I actually had the last chapter planned out in my head since before even writing the first, I****'****m just glad you like it.**

**Sonachugirl - You have a Ratchet plushie? I wonder if he has a Clank counterpart****…**** There****'****ll be more fluffiness on the way before the end of this story, hopefully it****'****ll live up to your expectations.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - Sorry, I couldn****'****t help myself with Clank****'****s little intervention. Don****'****t worry though, they****'****ll get their moment sooner than you think****…**

**Wow, there are a lot of new favourites and follows this week.**

**A big shout out to rancorlover and Epically-awesome for adding this story to your favourites along with Ivy Of The Night, violets117, and Sonachugirl (hello again!) who added it to their follows as well. Not forgetting all you regulars as well, thank you one and all.**

**I****'****m doing my best to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Bit of a hard act to follow on from the last chapter, but here****'****s chapter 14.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 14: **

**Palm Trees &amp; Pollution**

* * *

**Jowai Resort, Pokitaru**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**3:47pm local time**

From space, Jowai could almost pass for Earth; assuming that the icecaps melted and the resulting rise in sea levels swamped large portions of land. Another oddity was the large, conical silver dishes in geosynchronous orbit facing the planet. According to Clank, these were solar energy collectors that absorbed light from the sun and channelled it, via means which would require an overly long-winded explanation, into a visible spectrum of light that could be used to illuminate the dark side of the planet and eliminate the night cycle altogether; maintaining the claim of sunshine twenty-four hours a day.

Upon entering the atmosphere, it quickly became apparent as the shuttle flew low over the sparkling blue ocean that things weren't quite as advertised in the infobot commercial. There certainly wasn't any mention of black, modular centipede-like tankers dumping toxic waste into the ocean, nor the constant stream of saucer-like black-painted blarg fighter craft buzzing through the otherwise deep blue sky.

Landing on a raised natural looking wooden dock overlooking the distant resort complex, Ratchet, Ellen, and Clank found that other than the blarg-shaped fly in the ointment, the tropical paradise looked stunning. Palm trees swayed in a gentle, balmy breeze that was comfortably warm, and the ocean gleamed like a thousand diamonds for the most part; other than the areas where patches of glowing green adhered to the surface like oil slick and began to spread. The thick wooden jetty leading away from their ship split in two different directions; the right path ending at a teleporter to the 'scenic Jowai Resort sewers', which Ellen refused to go anywhere near considering her past experience with such places. The left path on the other hand led down to a smaller wooden platform where the Hawaiian shirt wearing novalian from the infobot commercial stood waiting with a relieved look upon his face.

"Hey, you three are the first friendly faces I've seen in weeks! Uh, you _are_ friendly, aren't you?"

"To you, yes," Ratchet smiled reassuringly before leering down at the small robot stood beside him. "To him, _no._"

The lombax ignored the narrow-eyed glares shot his way from both his companions as the resort owner brightened up. "Well friend, have I got a deal for you! Since the blarg began dumping their toxic sludge into our ocean, the wildlife has... uh..."

"Become ravenous mutants?"

The heavily set novalian cocked a finger before pointing it at the sentient machine who had spoken. "Yeah, you could say that. All my customers either left, or became lunch, so I'm closing the place down. However, I just so happen to have one - count 'em - one O2 mask left."

Ellen folded her arms as she shifted her weight to her right foot. "And I expect you'll want some compensation for this 'gift', right?"

Ratchet merely sighed. "How much?"

The resort owner held the mask protectively to his chest. "It's not for sale."

Clank raised a metallic digit. "But you said-"

The increasingly shifty sounding novalian gestured with his free hand. "I _said_ I had a _deal;_ and indeed I do. You manage to get rid of those blarg ships and it's all yours. Just escort me to the other end of this resort and you can use our jet fighter."

Ellen frowned in consternation. "Why the _hell _would a holiday resort have a _jet fighter_ lying around?!"

Her voiced concern was ignored by all present though as Ratchet rubbed his chin in thought. "Jet fighter, eh? Alright, but you better not try to stiff us!"

Surprised but elated at being included, Clank turned to glare at the resort owner alongside his lombax companion while a small smile tinged Ellen's lips. Maybe the fuzz ball was learning not to hold a grudge after all. With the little robot returning to his place on Ratchet's back, Ellen walked alongside him with her Blaster drawn as the resort owner brought up the rear. Descending the ramp off of the jetty onto a small sand bar, they got their first good luck at what had happened to the local wildlife.

"Is that a puffer fish? On _land?_" the sole female of the group asked incredulously. For indeed, the dog-sized, bulbous orange fish flopping around on the sand ahead didn't appear to be affected by being out of water, unlike their smaller Earth-bound counterparts.

"Like your little metal friend said, the sea life started mutating after the blarg dumped their waste in the ocean," the Hawaiian shirt wearing man answered. "Just don't get too close to 'em, they tend to get a bit... bitey."

Be that as it may, the surprisingly robust fish lasted longer under the intense flame of Ratchet's Pyrocitor than expected, but were otherwise cooked in good order. Ellen fired short bursts into a second shoal of spiky fish, only to find that they tended to get back up and turn into spinning, spiny balls bent on perforating her hide before being put down for good. They managed to finish off the mutant amphibians between the two of them, only to be confronted with a four-tentacled purple thing with an elongated neck and a large dome-like cranium covered in a thin, translucent membrane under which the brain could be seen.

Without warning, the quasi-octopus like creature lowered its head and motes of golden energy gathered around its dome moments before a psionic pulse burst towards the group with a harrowing screech. Shoving the novalian they were escorting aside, Ratchet hit the dirt while Ellen rolled away on the opposite side; the energy projectile searing past them and impacting the nearby cliff side, creating a four foot wide imprint that cracked and shattered the solid rock. Not wanting to let the strange creature have a second shot, the lombax charged in with his flamethrower blazing while his human counterpart peppered it with Blaster fire from afar. Thankfully it didn't take long for the purple beast to expire under the combined assault, its body slowly sinking into the depths of the ocean and leaving the area mutant free for the time being.

"What the hell was that thing?" Ellen managed to say between breaths as her thumping heart rate slowly returned to normal levels.

"That would be a psytopus," Clank stated matter of factly. "A native species of Jowai. It would appear to have increased in both size and power since mutating."

The human stared in bewilderment at where the corpse had been. "_That's_ a psytopus? You mean, that's what I ate at that restaurant in Metropolis?"

Ratchet shrugged indifferently. "Didn't hear you complaining then."

Ellen grimaced. "That's before I found out I've been chewing on a bloody psychic octopus."

She gave an involuntary shudder, but otherwise dropped the subject as the resort owner jumped on to an abandoned hover-skiff beached nearby and fired up the anti-gravity engine. "Looks like she still works. I'll drive, you two just make sure nothing tries to take a chunk out of me."

Climbing aboard what was probably a tour vessel at one point, the lombax and human stood back to back amidships waiting for any potential threats to show themselves. They didn't have to wait long, since a wave of the mutant puffer fish began to jump out of the water in an effort to attack the vessel's occupants as the skiff cleared a small protruding rock island. Ratchet swatted away the nearest aquatic creature with his wrench while it was still in mid-air, before switching to his Pyrocitor to douse a pair landing on the rear of the ship. Ellen meanwhile was using a combination of short concentrated bursts from her Blaster to pick off any fish from a distance, while making use of her Versa Blade and the occasional kick on any stragglers that got too close. Passing close to a waterfall near a pair of small sandbars, the attacks intensified from ones and twos to shoals of five or more as the day-glo orange mutants tried to swamp the hover skiff with sheer numbers.

In spite of the increasing odds however, Ratchet and Ellen continued to push back the invading puffer fish despite the overwhelming numbers making it on to the vessel's deck. Taking care of another, the redhead felt a sudden stab of pain as the spines from one of the ballooned beasts tore a rent through her shirt and pierced her skin. With an angered cry, she span low on her foot to jam her knife into the offender before shooting a spiny fish that was about to cannon into Ratchet. The lombax in question had just had a brainwave of sorts and switched to his Suck Cannon, trapping and storing any nearby mutants caught within the pull of its vortex. As the two finally began to gain the upper hand, the skiff ceased moving forward and began to ascend vertically in place; leaving the remaining killer fish behind as the journey ended at a wooden dock jutting from a cliff face with a nearby waterfall cascading into a pool basin before over the edge once more.

Upon leaving the vessel, the group were set upon by a pair of puffer fish backed up by another psytopus just beyond the landing near some palms. Ellen shot the nearest bounding mutant with her machine pistol, the second inadvertently being nailed by a psionic blast from the purple squid-like creature in the rear and allowing her partner to get in close. Not wasting any time, Ratchet tossed a few bombs at the psychokinetic creature which reduced it to sushi before everyone moved up; only to halt at the edge of the expansive pool beneath the waterfall. Dozens of the orange spiny fish blocked their path, floundering in the relatively shallow water against the moderate current.

With both their Bomb Gloves equipped, the human and lombax rained down explosives on the clustered sea life; sending bodies flying and clearing a path to the other side. Wading through the waist high water, flamethrower and Blaster fire finished off any stragglers as Ratchet and Ellen escorted the resort owner down a wood-lined path set between two cliff faces. Descending a set of stairs at the end, they soon found themselves on a plateau covered in lush greenery, with a stunning vista of the surrounding tropical islands and three angry looking, beady-eyed mutant fish waiting for them.

With a gout of flame, Ratchet used his Pyrocitor to engulf the amphibious creatures while Ellen finished them off with a few well placed Blaster shots. The only way forward now was a steady incline leading down to a stretch of beach, broken up by yet another waterfall and even more of the damned persistent puffer fish flopping about on the sand. Moving on, the lombax continued to sweep the tide of mutants with his flamethrower with his human counterpart tossing a few bombs of her own where they were most concentrated. Passing the waterfall, the lombax yelped in surprised pain as one of the fish leapt out of the water to stab him with it's spikes; Ellen quickly running it through with her knife before tearing the body off of her grimacing partner.

"Ratchet, you all right?"

The lombax nodded with a wince. "Yeah, just... give me a sec to heal up." He soon sighed with relief as the Nanotech in his bloodstream went to work, flooding his veins with pain relief and rapidly sealing his puncture wounds until only a few dried specks of blood remained on his fur. "Alright... Let's keep going."

After cleaning out the last of the orange-coloured opposition with a little more caution, the group boarded another hover-skiff beached on the sand and backed out into the crystal clear bay waters. With the resort owner piloting the vessel once again, the lombax and human checked their remaining ammo with more than a hint of concern considering they had burnt a lot of it already. Ellen stuck to her Blaster for the time being, her eyes sweeping the ocean for any more flying fish attempting to strike. Ratchet meanwhile had holstered his almost empty Pyrocitor and retrieved his fully loaded Suck Cannon, intending to both save ammo and recover it at the same time. The relatively peaceful journey was interrupted as the skiff approached a narrow gap through a gulley formed by two opposing coral-sporting rocky islands, with more of the infernal puffer fish beginning their assault anew.

Ratchet's Suck Cannon blasted fish out of the air like clay pigeons with their brethren that he had previously hoovered up; emptying the weapon only to suck up more organic projectiles as they came. Ellen was having a harder time since she didn't have another weapon other than her knife that didn't explode, and so she had to make each of her remaining shots in her dwindling ammo supply count. Because of this, the human resorted to quick two to three round bursts to pick off distant targets before switching back to her Versa Blade or plain putting the boot in when they got too close. Between the two, they barely managed to hold off the swarm of killer fish long enough for their novalian driver to bring the skiff in to rest at a much more impressive looking bronze-decorated metal dock beside the main resort complex.

Glad that particularly stressful little trip was over, the group disembarked and made their way up a set of stairs before crossing a snaking bridge which unpacked itself into a zigzag pattern as they approached. On the other side, Ratchet and Ellen swatted aside a few straggling puffer fish and continued to follow the meandering path around the edge of the resort until they reached a flight of stairs that led to a small shopping plaza lined with abandoned stalls and businesses, as well as a heavy presence of mutant fish occupying the centre. Not wanting to waste any more time, Ellen switched to her Glove of Doom and tossed out a pair of silver egg-shaped canisters into the greatest concentrations; splitting apart to reveal an octad of miniature cackling drones that subsequently began to bite and blow up the mutant wildlife with reckless abandon.

Using the distraction provided by the chaos, Ratchet stormed in with the red-headed human close behind, both paving the way with bullets and fire until they reached a pressure pad that extended a helix-shaped bridge leading deeper into the resort. Crossing over, the lombax used his Suck Cannon once more to blow away the puffer fish waiting on the other side with the high-velocity marine life contained within. Ellen on the other hand was forced to holster her empty machine pistol and rely upon her trusty Bomb Glove for protection as they rounded a corner on the path, finding a cul-de-sac lined with streetlights (odd when you consider that the resort was supposed to be sunny 24/7) and a hanger at the end on the sea front just beyond a shallow swimming pool. Finishing off the remaining mutants, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief as they came to a halt outside the metallic structure.

"Well, we're here, now where's that fighter?" That's Ratchet alright; always to the point.

"Right there in that locked garage," the resort owner gestured to the hanger behind him. "One tourist crashes a jet and _wham!_ Heh, heh... lawsuit!"

Clank tilted his head in thought at the man-sized pillar with a bullseye painted on top just in front of their objective. "That lock is unlike any I have seen."

Ellen frowned as she looked at the structure "That's a lock? How the hell are we supposed to open that?"

The Hawaiian shirt wearing novalian raised a finger. "Very astute observation, Mr. Shiny and little miss redhead. I can't open it either; I don't trust the tourists, and the board of directors sure as heck don't trust me." He gave a nervous chuckle. "So we have a... little problem."

Ratchet snorted with apathy. "_We_ have a little problem? _I_ just want the O2 mask. So if you can't open up the lock, that's _your_ problem!" The lombax's eyes narrowed, Ellen and Clank wearing similarly annoyed expressions as he continued. "Now, cough up the mask!"

The resort owner waved his hands in front of him in a placating manner. "Now hold on a minute. I can see that you _really_ want to fly our jet, so I'll tell you what. Go talk to Bob in his Roboshack. He knows about these locks."

United in their plummeting opinion of the increasingly grating novalian, the team of three set off to a nearby shop with a familiar rotating sign of a robot holding a wrench over its head on top. To be brutally honest, it would have been so much easier to take the mask by force; but both organics and robot had a much better moral compass than that. And so it was that they found themselves inside another Roboshack branch with a sense of déjà vu, especially considering who was behind the counter.

"Well, well... whadda we got here?" Aside from being significantly thinner and the twang of a southern accent, the butter-yellow alien looked surprisingly similar to Al from Metropolis, right down to the white lab coat, glasses, and monocular eyepiece set atop his head. Without warning, he grabbed a startled Clank from where he stood before depositing the robot on the counter top.

"Hey, watch it!"

The store owner, presumably Bob, ignored the metal digit pointed at his face in favour of scrutinising the minute sentient machine. "Ah recognise that work. Y'all been to see Al, ain'tcha?"

Ratchet nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he installed the Heli-Pack."

Bob gave a small chuckle. "Ah kin see that. Ah taught that idjit brother of mine everythang he knows." He leaned on the counter with one arm while directing his attention towards the lombax and human. "Look, if you want some real hardware, ah kin fix this lil' feller up with a Thruster Pack!"

Clank made an appreciative noise while Ellen stepped into the conversation. "I don't suppose that would help us get past that weird lock next to the fighter hanger by any chance?"

Clank took the opportunity to climb down from the counter while the proprietor cupped his chin in contemplation. "Ah, so you know about those gizmos, huh? It sure as heck will! It's got a real special power slam move built raht in!"

Ratchet gave his robotic companion a poignant look. "It's a good thing I need it to get to that jet, or you'd be outta luck, pal!"

A few thousand bolts transaction later and Bob reached over once again to pick up Clank, only for the small robot to pre-empt him. "I have got it." Using his Heli-Pack rotors, he flew up on to the counter where the store owner was already laying out his tools.

"Ah'll have you fixed up faster'n a horny toad a hoppin'!" Less than a minute of work later, the upgrade was installed and the little silver robot turned around to show off his new wings. "There ya are lil' buddy! Better'n new!"

Clank gave Ratchet a knowing look. "That is right, I am 'da man!'"

The lombax in question merely stretched with a yawn. "Yeah... not bad."

Returning to the fighter hanger, Clank triggered the thrusters on his new upgrade to propel both himself and Ratchet up into the air before a burst of acceleration brought them both crashing down on top of the pressure sensitive lock with enough force to make Ellen wince. The pillar slammed into the ground and the shutter-like door on the hanger slid open to reveal a bright orange and white-trimmed quasi delta-winged fighter aircraft sporting two thrusters at the rear, and another pair mounted in tandem with a machine gun on each of the wings.

Ellen couldn't keep the incredulousness from her tone as she echoed her earlier question. "Again, I have to ask, _why_ exactly is there a fighter jet at a holiday resort?"

"I got it cheap from a blargian trader," the resort owner interjected. "Figured I'd make a profit from letting tourists take a ride. Trouble is, you need a special kind of helmet to make it fly, and it doesn't exactly work with just anyone. Probably why the last guy ditched it in the ocean and tried to sue the resort." He gave a dry chuckle. "Just as well we got him on a counter claim for damaging resort property."

"Helmet, huh? You mean like this one?"

The novalian squinted at the silver protective head gear held in the lombax's hands before replying. "Yeah, that's it all right." Pausing only to clap his hands together, the resort owner continued as he made his way back out of the hanger. "Well, I'll leave you three to it. Just come and see me when you're done with the blarg. Oh, and try not to wreck the jet. it's still company property."

Once he was out of sight, Ratchet gestured towards Ellen and the two inspected the exterior of the aircraft for anything that might tear off or blow up in flight, or at least the lombax did. Ellen frankly didn't know what the hell to look for, seeing as her knowledge of spaceships and airplanes in general wouldn't be enough to fill the back of a postage stamp. Instead she tried to learn from Ratchet as they carried on, while Clank sat in the cockpit and went through the instruments and controls for any defects. After concluding that there was less chance of the fighter breaking apart in mid-air than Ratchet executing a perfect landing on Novalis, Ratchet hopped into the pilot's seat with Ellen and Clank managing to squeeze into the cramped rear seat of the tandem-crewed aircraft.

"Kay, let's see... Fuel tanks are filled, avionics a-ok, ejector seats... Ah, who needs 'em?"

Ellen looked down at Clank as he balanced on her lap with the seat's harness stretched to accommodate him. "Should I be worried?"

The minute machine looked back at her apologetically. "Considering Ratchet has a dubious track record with flying vessels so far? Most likely."

Her reply stilled on her lips as the canopy descended to seal the cockpit and the fighter rolled forward out of the hanger. "Alright, let's see what this baby can do. You might want to hang on to something back there."

Cue human and robot bracing for the worst as Ratchet punched the throttle and sent the orange blargian-built aircraft into a near vertical climb. Levelling out around 500 feet, the lombax banked smoothly to the left and set course for the largest concentration of blarg tankers while Clank began to push buttons on the flat screen displays in front of him and his human companion. "What're you doing? Actually, what're we supposed to be doing in the first place?"

The little silver robot answered without missing a beat, the screens in front of him lighting up with numerous statistics and a radar display in the centre. "I am making sure that the weapon systems are activated. We are currently seated in the radar intercept officer's position, and thus are responsible for locating threats to the aircraft as well as assisting in targeting missiles for the pilot while he is otherwise engaged."

"So we get to shoot stuff while Ratchet does his best to make me redecorate the cockpit with whatever's left of my breakfast?"

"More or less."

Ellen sighed. "Wonderful.

Their lombax pilot's voice interrupted their some what pessimistic banter as he punched the throttle. "You guys ready back there? We're going in!"

Heading straight at the nearest tanker, Ratchet strafed the length of the centipede-like machine with gunfire before quickly diving to avoid a collision. Bleeding off speed, the fighter banked hard right; bringing it up behind another tanker and off to one side. While the lombax lined up to bring his guns to bear, Ellen - with Clank's help - managed to bring up the targeting reticule for the multitude of missiles recessed in the belly of the aircraft. As soon as the flashing green sight turned red with a solid negative tone, She pushed the ominous little red button on her right arm rest; a missile ejecting from the launch bay a split second later and streaked towards its target. Their golden-furred pilot had managed to destroy two of the tanker's cargo modules, the missile adding a third just before the jet overshot the much slower moving vessel.

Wrenching the fighter into a high-G turn, the lombax soon lined up yet another tanker with enough range for Ellen and Clank to get some good shots in. Missile after missile flew on a plume of smoke to impact the oddly graceful vessel with a shower of rent metal and burning debris. As soon as they were in range, Ratchet opened up with the machine guns to finish the job, culminating in the destruction of the 'cab' pulling the cargo modules that made up a bulk of each tanker. The blarg hadn't been idle during the attack though; their oddly saucer-like agile fighter craft barrelling down from above to eliminate the one interfering with their operation. Fortunately their numbers counted against them in such a tightly packed environment, making it difficult to target the orange jet as it flitted between the swarm of manoeuvring fighters while gunning down any that stood directly in its path, before latching on to another of the centipede like waste carriers.

At such a stupidly close range, Ellen simply dumb-fired missiles at the tanker without bothering to wait for a solid lock-on. With a concertina effect, the combination of heavy calibre machine guns and makeshift rockets shredded each module from the rear of the vessel up to the cab towing it. Barrel rolling through the resulting explosion - just because - the jolt of plasma striking the port wing forced Ratchet to go evasive as more blarg fighters pursued with fervour.

"There are two enemy aircraft on our tail, I recommend evasive manoeuvres."

The lombax pilot rolled his eyes at Clank stating the obvious. "Oh really, ya think? Just watch me lose these guys."

So saying, he inverted the orange fighter and dove towards the expanse of water below with the blargians close behind firing all the way. Stray plasma whipped by far too close to the cockpit for Ellen's liking as Ratchet finally pulled up from his power dive a scant few feet off the oceans surface, before weaving in and out of scattered islets and palm-covered sand bars at a ridiculous speed. The lead blargian misjudged his distance as he attempted to follow through a narrow gorge formed between two tall rock formations, realising at the last second that his wider craft couldn't make it through and forcing him to eject. His wingman simply flew over the top of the obstacle however and continued his dogged pursuit anew.

"Uh, Ratchet...?"

"Not now, I'm kinda busy here!" He bled off speed as he prepared to make a tight turn; the already damaged port wing clipping a rock formation as the two-man fighter squeezed past it and took off the wing tip in the process. "Oops."

"Really not filling me with confidence back here."

The rain of plasma striking the ocean surface around them shut down any further conversation, Ratchet yanking the fighter back into a half loop to face their attacker before rolling back up the right way. The second blarg ship popped its airbrakes and attempted to draw a bead on the orange aircraft, only to fail as a hastily launched missile reduced it to flaming debris. Breathing a collective sigh of relief all round, the borrowed fighter was reoriented back on the remaining tankers with the afterburners lit and weapons ready.

Having only six missiles left, they really had to make each one count. With Clank's fine tuning of the radar system, Ellen locked onto the first waste carrier to cross their path and triggered a couple of missiles to strike amidships while Ratchet jinked to avoid incoming fire and return his own. Speeding past the crippled vessel, the lombax engaged the airbrakes and pulled the fighter into a gut wrenchingly tight turn before going to town with his guns and finished it off. Kicking the rudder, he spun into a corkscrew to avoid a head on attack from a blargian fighter and put holes in his wingman with the mounted machine guns, while Ellen tracked and downed another fighter with another missile shot.

With the fighter screen scattered, the route to the last remaining centipede-like tanker was simpler, but hardly clear. Pushing the throttle to maximum, Ratchet sought to close the distance as rapidly as possible to prevent any interference during their attack run. With the flexible serpentine vessel filling her view screen, Ellen fired off the remaining missiles as quickly as she could acquire each lock-on. The three fiery spears slammed into their respective targets, followed by a swathe of gunfire just before the high-velocity orange streak of a fighter blew by; the damage caused catastrophic, but not enough to completely destroy the now burning vessel.

The Nearest squadron of blarg fighters came screaming in with weapons blazing a trail of plasma bolts at the constantly dodging orange-painted interloper in their midst, reducing Ellen and Clank to being spectators in the ensuing furball as they clung on for dear life. Ratchet practically made their aircraft dance in a maelstrom of gunfire and flaming wreckage; each opposing fighter going down one after the other in an unchoreographed aerial ballet until the attackers were squadron was no more.

Once the last hostile ship was sent spiralling down to the ocean below, Ratchet pulled the fighter around for one last strafing run. The tanker they had previously hit was now limping low over the ocean, attempting to escape the immediate area for who knows where. Not giving the blarg vessel a chance, the lombax pulled into another power dive and held down the trigger as hundreds of rounds perforated the weakened hull plating and tore it apart; the waste carrier splashing down into the ocean with a final groan of twisted metal before slowly vanishing without a trace beneath the calm waters. With nothing left to protect, the remaining blargian fighters bugged out and presumably headed back to their base while a slightly worse for wear orange and white-trimmed aircraft was brought back to the resort so that the occupants could claim their prize.

The landing was surprisingly smooth all thoughts considered, the canopy popping open as they slowed to a halt and allowing Ellen to take a breath of clean ocean air. Once the jet was safely parked back in the hanger, the three crew members found the resort owner waiting for them with the O2 mask tucked under his arm. "Well, I guess that should do it. Here you go."

Tossing it into the waiting lombax's hands, Ratchet clutched the mask with a combination of relief and exasperation etched on to his face. "It's about time."

Nodding in agreement, Ellen watched the novalian walking away with a furrowed brow. Having the O2 mask was all fine and well, but there was only one between the pair of them; not a lot of good unless one or the other stayed in the ship when they returned to explore Orxon. Thinking about it, her eyes suddenly lit up with realisation. If they couldn't buy or earn another O2 mask, why not make one instead? Since Al had helped with her Grapple Gun idea, maybe his brother would have a similar solution for her problem. After conveying her concern to Ratchet and Clank, the three trekked back to Bob's Roboshack to pay him a second visit.

"Well if it aint you three again. What can ah do ya for?"

After thrashing out the details and making a part payment using the multitude of scrap electronics the human had 'borrowed' from the blarg depot, Bob told the three to come back in a few hours and set to work. With nothing but time on their hands and a deserted tropical paradise resort at hand, Ratchet made a suggestion. "Why don't we take the rest of the day off, chill out a little?"

Clank shook his head vehemently. "The galaxy is in danger, we have no time for such trivial matters."

Ellen however rubbed her chin in thought. "Actually, he's got a point. We've spent the last three days or so getting shot at, maybe we should have some time to ourselves to rest. We can't go anywhere until Bob's finished, and I don't know about you, but I could do with getting something to eat."

Ratchet grinned in return at the smallest member of their group. "Sorry pal, you're outvoted."

The little silver robot paused in thought for a moment before finally giving a shrug. "Very well, but only until Ellen's new equipment is completed."

With that, the three set out to enjoy the sights and sounds of Jowai Resort, minus the mutant wildlife and blarg polluters. A whole day with the place to themselves.

"This is gonna be sweet!"

* * *

**A short break for our heroes and a chance for Ratchet and Ellen to solidify their new relationship? All coming up next time****…**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	15. Chapter 15: Fun In The Sun

**Author****'****s note:**

**Back again with what will probably be the last ****'****rest stop****'**** chapter before the end of the story, considering what****'****s still coming up. This chapter was a bit of a pain to write since I didn****'****t have a clear direction for where to take it from the beginning unlike my previous efforts. That said, I don****'****t think I****'****ve done too badly in such a short period of time, and can only hope you all enjoy the end result.**

**Review replies:**

**destiny - Thank you very much, I hope this chapter doesn****'****t disappoint.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - I like to think of them as one big happy dysfunctional family; always there for each other despite the sniping.**

**ReginaDC21 - Don't worry about it, I'm in retail myself so I know what it's like. As far as I'm concerned, a review's a review; whether it's for a single chapter or several bundled together in one, I'm more than happy for any feedback.**

**Ratchet's definitely mellowing out as time goes on; just goes to show what another perspective can do for somebody's actions and attitudes. Regarding your sister's question, you just hit the nail on the head.**

**Alien Isolation… From what I've seen and heard about it so far, it's probably going to be one of the scariest gaming experiences ever devised and a welcome revival of the Aliens franchise after the disappointment that was Colonial Marines. Unlike said game where the aliens are cheap horde enemies that can be beaten off easily , the idea of facing only a single antagonist which is smart, entirely unscripted, and utterly lethal is both brilliant and potentially terrifying. Considering the last game to genuinely give me jump scares was Outlast, I am very much looking forward to seeing the final product when it's released.**

**Sonachugirl - Mmm****… ****chocolate rice. Guess my motives for the next (this) chapter are pretty transparent, huh? I kind of want matching R&amp;C plushies now that you mentioned them****…*****sigh* Anyway, thank you once again.**

**Hello and thank you to willow angle for adding this story to your favourites, not forgetting all you wonderful people who have previously done so and/or are also following.**

**I**** endeavour ****to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**It****'****s been a bit of a funny week, but here****'****s Chapter 15 as promised.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 15: **

**Fun In The Sun**

* * *

**Jowai Resort, Pokitaru**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.740 Galactic calendar**

**5:03pm local time**

"This looks like a good spot."

So saying, Ratchet hefted the large parasol he'd been carrying and stabbed it into the sand a good fifteen feet away from where the gentle surf lapped up against the beach. Taking a breath of the fresh ocean breeze, he turned back the way he came to assist Clank, who was struggling to pull a reclining deck chair in his wake. Once set up, the lombax returned with another recliner as well as a smaller child-sized version for his robotic companion, before finally flopping down onto the first towel-covered chair with a grunting sigh of relaxation. Feeling the joints pop in his lower back as he stretched out, Ratchet placed his hands behind his head and simply took in the crystal blue waters as the sun's light made them sparkle like diamonds.

With the entire resort deserted, the three friends had - with varying degrees of enthusiasm - taken it upon themselves to thoroughly explore the complex and surrounding areas for anything of interest. First stop had been the shopping plaza they had previously waded through; the blackened scorch marks and gingerly avoided bodies of deflated puffer fish testament to the battle waged there less than an hour previous. Since the various shops and businesses were long abandoned, Ratchet saw no reason not to 'borrow' a few things here and there; though Clank insisted that they leave payment to cover any items taken for when the owners eventually returned. Ellen felt a tinge of unease as she trailed her two companions into a beach wear shop, though that was probably due to the fact that the whole 'tropical paradise marred by mutated corpses' thing reminded her of playing Dead Island, and she half expected a shambling zombie to jump out at any second.

The air conditioned interior of the shop made a welcome change from the slightly morbid scene outside. Racks of clothing for all species lined the walls and select areas around the circular room, while a cashier booth occupied the centre and a small changing room sat off to one side. Of course the previous store owner probably didn't have humans in mind when procuring their stock, meaning that Ellen had to fish around in a myriad of clothing encompassing all shapes and sizes to find something that not only fit her, but also didn't have a hole in the back for a non-existent tail to protrude. Now that she time to think about it, the redhead hadn't had a chance to change her clothes or even shower since being spirited away to this galaxy; bar the decon shower on the blarg station, or being submerged and almost drowned in sewage water that is. Either way, she was looking forward to wearing something that wasn't ripped, burned, or smelled like smoke and blood.

Going through a rack of swimsuits, Ellen briefly cast her eyes to where the two boys were similarly browsing. Clank had picked up a straw sun hat that dwarfed his miniature frame and looked frankly adorable. Why would a robot need a sun hat? She didn't know nor really care, especially since her smallest companion had finally seemed to get out of his objective based mentality and ease up just a little. Ratchet on the other hand was nowhere to be seen; several racks of clothing had been messily rummaged through and partly discarded in a trail leading up to the occupied changing room. Muffled words could be heard from beyond the closed door followed by the sight of a multitude of coloured clothing being draped over the top, only to disappear and be replaced with different garments again. After several minutes of this and Ellen moving on to another rack of clothing, the door finally opened to reveal the absent lombax.

"Well? Whadaya think?"

Ellen wasn't quite sure what to expect, but Ratchet certainly cleaned up good when he wanted to. The oil-stained bottom half of a fighter jockey's jumpsuit was gone, a similarly green pair of knee length, loose fitting swimming trunks in its place. Gone too was the buckled harness around his now bare golden-furred torso, the well defined muscle tone now somehow more visible without the impediment covering it. Surprisingly, he had also taken off the thick, leathery gloves which she honestly believed would only be possible if they were surgically removed; the furred arms ending in small, pearly-white blunted claws on the tips of each finger. Perhaps the biggest shock however was that he had finally parted with the ever present leather flying cap perched on his head; the same golden fur that covered the rest of his body residing in its place.

"You don't have any hair."

Ratchet blinked. "Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm covered in it, Ellen. You feeling alright?"

She shook her head, partly to refocus herself, but mostly in an attempt to shake off the embarrassment of not editing her thoughts before opening her mouth. "I mean like mine, on top of my head? Most of the other races we've run into so far have hair, so I kind of thought..."

The lombax chuckled as she trailed off. "That I was hiding something under my hat, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think lombaxes get head fur like yours. Probably. I know I don't."

The red-headed human smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry about that, wasn't thinking before I spoke. Anyway, you look good. Definitely suits you."

With a perceptible swagger in his step, Ratchet gathered up his belongings and found a bag to store them while Ellen continued to browse. Coming to the end of the row she was inspecting, her eyes lit up at the outfit she saw sandwiched between two bathing suits and let a mischievous grin briefly adorn her features. Stealing a glance at Ratchet, she saw him occupied with trying on sunglasses in front of a mirror while Clank tried to advise him. With both distracted, the human grabbed the beach wear along with a few extras which sparked her interest before diving into the changing room to try it on. The first warning Ratchet got was when the changing room door opened smoothly, and a series of dull footsteps proceeded an image that made his eyes widen and jaw drop.

It wasn't the first time the lombax had seen her wearing so little, but before it had been accidental. Now though... A deep ocean blue dominated the ensemble; the two-piece bikini swim wear in addition to the sarong knotted around her waist vastly contrasting with her lightly flushed, creamy-coloured skin, which now sported several new healed scars as a result of their adventures together. A pair of simple yet elegant coppery-brown sandals adorned her feet, while the chain links holding her brother's dogtags hung from around her neck. Ratchet simply goggled at the sight before him with his jaw soundlessly agape. No words could describe how he felt, no coherent thought could form; his mouth suddenly dry as he watched the muscle tone ripple on those shapely legs of hers while she approached.

"You should close your mouth, Ratchet. It is said that failing to do so for extended periods may lead to accidental ingestion of winged insects."

Ellen snickered as Clank finished his clinical version of a popular saying. "I think I broke him."

With the small robot's lilting titter, Ratchet shook his head in an effort to regain his senses. "Ellen, I- I just... wow!"

She smiled somewhat shyly, feeling more self conscious now that her little bit of fun was over. "So I take it you approve then?"

An appreciative grin plastered the lombax's face. "Are you kidding? You look pretty girl- I mean good! Pretty good! You sure you're comfortable with that though?" His thoughts no doubt drifted back to their less than ideal first meeting, and how mortified she had been wearing next to nothing outdoors.

"I'll be alright," she reassured. "It's not like anyone else is going to see me, and I could do with a bit of sun. Might stop me being so bloody pale all the time."

With that, Ellen bundled her sullied clothes into a bag in a similar vein to Ratchet; resolving to find a laundrette or at least a fresh set of proper clothing before they left the planet. By the time they had left payment at the unoccupied cashier booth, Clank had been kitted out with a predominantly red Hawaiian shirt in his size to go with the sun hat from earlier, and the three walked back out into the balmy heat of the day.

Feeling hungry, the next port of call was a beach front cafe called The Tiki Lodge that advertised a wide variety of tropical themed meals. Naturally enough, the place was deserted, and looked like it had been cleaned out quite a while ago. That being said, there was still some long life supplies left behind, along with a crate of what had become Ellen's new favourite drink; naxa juice. Considering her diet the last few days had primarily consisted of nanobars and whatever else could be consumed in the gaps between each firefight, the prospect of sitting down for a meal together was highly appealing. It took a bit of creative wrangling, but between the lombax and human they managed to prepare something filling if not entirely conventional, while Clank helped himself once he had finished assisting his companions.

"I know it's not five star quality, but what'd you think? Not bad, huh?"

Ellen finished savouring a bulbous green vegetable that tasted like a sweet potato infused with lemon grass, a slight groan of satisfaction escaping her lips. "Oh God this is good, I didn't realise you knew how to cook."

Ratchet shrugged with a confident smirk. "That's the thing about living on your own; you either learn to make good food, or learn how to stomach the bad stuff."

They both shared a laugh before settling down to eat in companionable silence. The dish they had come up with was a kind of tropical slant on a mixed grill, consisting of salted fish, something that probably wasn't beef but tasted similar, gammon steak, and sautéed potato-like vegetables washed down with a glass or two of naxa juice each. The calls of ocean birds from above and a warm breeze blowing through the palms outside the open-fronted cafe created a relaxing atmosphere in which they could temporarily forget about the life or death struggle for the galaxy which they would soon return to.

Upon finishing their meal, the three left payment and stepped back out to bask in the warmth of the golden sun with full stomachs before setting off once again. At Ellen's assistance, a small laundrette was soon found on an offshoot from the plaza where their bundled clothing could be cleaned. Thankfully, laundry in the Solana galaxy was more a small inconvenience rather than the chore it was on Earth; the process taking less than five minutes rather than up to an hour or more as she expected thanks to the advanced technology employed. Unfortunately, all of the clothing related stores around the plaza were geared towards beach wear or surfing, meaning that her original battle torn attire would have to suffice once their little holiday was over and they set off once again. This brings us to our present situation, where a lightly dozing lombax was about to get a rude awakening.

"Gah!"

Spluttering the salty taste of sea water out of his mouth, Ratchet levelled a glare at the snickering vision of beauty in front of him before raising himself off of the damp reclining deck chair. "Sorry Ratchet, couldn't help myself."

A smirk of anticipation tugged at his lips. "Yeah? Well, maybe I can't help _this!_"

So saying, he lunged forward to grab the redhead, only for said girl to dodge backwards before laughing all the way to the ocean; leaving her sandals, sarong, and bare footprints in her wake. He caught up as Ellen waded out up to her waist before diving in after her; the human whipping around only to face nothing. She didn't even realise he was behind her until strong furred hands grasped her shoulders and dunked her under the water with a yelp of surprise. The lombax sniggered as curtains of drenched red hair framing narrowed crystal-blue eyes rose from the ocean mere inches in front of his face.

"Of course you know, this means war."

Clank shook his head as he watched his companions behaving like small children, splashing water over each other and laughing all the while. As he turned his attention back to the meticulously sculpted sand effigy of himself that he was creating, the intelligent machine pondered their actions. Something had changed during the time he had explored on Orxon and his return to the shuttle; his companions, who had previously been on tenterhooks since the near disaster with Qwark, were suddenly... closer, for want of a better term. True, the relationship between the two appeared to have been mended to the point where they were friends again, and Ratchet even appeared to be more lenient in his attitude towards clank himself, but it almost seemed like something else was there. Certainly, there appeared to be a deeper understanding between his companions; subtle, surely, but nevertheless continuing to grow as time passed. Perhaps he should simply ask-

A triangular-shaped, clawed foot flattened Clank's lavishly detailed work of sand-based art; the small robot shooting an annoyed glance up at the soaked lombax whom it belonged to with a similarly drenched human leaning good naturedly on his shoulder. "Oops, sorry Clank. Didn't see you there."

An apology? From the self-centred furry one? So unexpected was this that any annoyance Clank might have felt dissipated to be replaced with resignation and more than a little curiosity. "It is nothing. I will simply find another spot to build anew."

So saying, he trotted off further up the beach, leaving behind a concerned human and slightly guilty looking lombax. "I said I was sorry, what more could he want outta me?"

Ellen gently patted the golden-furred feline on the shoulder. "Give him time. You have to admit, you have been a bit of a dick since Qwark betrayed us." Ratchet looked down at his feet with a sigh, not moving as a pair of smooth-skinned appendages wrapped around his chest from behind while the redhead rested her chin on his shoulder. "Oh don't give me that fuzz ball, he'll come around eventually. At least he isn't as stubborn as you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She gave him a light squeeze, a glimmer of mirth in her eyes. "Oh cheer up, you miserable sod. You just get so fixated on one idea that you don't know when to let it go, that's all."

Now that he thought about it, the whole Qwark thing was becoming borderline obsession. Hell, he'd nearly lost the two closest people he had because of it. "I... Yeah, you're right. I might have been a _little_ too fixated on Qwark."

Ellen raised a brow as he turned to face her. "Only a little?"

The lombax rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Okay, maybe a lot. I'm still gonna nail him when we find him though."

She chuckled. "Fair enough, but I want a shot too fuzz ball."

His answer was a growing smirk. "Sure thing... babe."

The human blinked at his endearing nickname for her. Since she already had one for him, it only seemed fair for him to give her one; though he might have come up with something a little more original... Feeling that things between them were back on track, she decided to change the subject. "Do you think Bob might have finished the work around for the O2 mask yet?"

Ratchet raised a brow in question. "If he's anything like Al then yeah, probably. Why, you want to leave already?"

Ellen shook her head. "No, it's just that I wouldn't mind taking a look at the coral reefs around the island, and I figure it'd be a good test of the mask as well."

Ratchet nodded in understanding. It would definitely be better to test the breathing apparatus in a safe, controlled environment, rather than heroing it on a toxic world like Orxon and praying for the best. That, and it would be interesting to see what lay beneath the ocean without the danger of getting eaten by the mutant sea life that had recently been dealt with.

The walk back to Bob's Roboshack was thankfully short and allowed adequate time for the ocean breeze to partly dry them off, especially since Ratchet decided it would be a great idea to shake himself like a dog and spray the entire area with droplets of water. Re-entering the shop for the third time that day, the pair saw Bob scrutinising a circuit board on the counter with his eye magnifier thingy before looking up at their approach with a smile.

"Well hey there! Y'all come to see that breathin' gear ah've been workin' on?" With Ellen's confirmation, the store owner and self-professed mechanical genius reached behind the counter and deposited his handiwork on top for all to view. "Well, here she is. Aint the same as the original, but ah reckon it'll do just as good."

The most prevalent feature of the custom built device was perhaps the large and bulbous goldfish bowl-like helmet. According to Bob, it was made of a light reactive tinted polymer that would lighten or darken based upon exposure to ambient ultraviolet light levels, as well as being hardened to resist impact damage and weapons fire to a limited degree. A comfortable looking collar made of a firm yet spongy material sat at the base where the neck would sit, and expanded to create a vacuum between the inside of the helmet and the outside world. Attached to the rear of the collar was a pair of thick black tubes that connected to a small, lightweight pack made of metal and plastic that would lay suspended between the wearer's shoulder blades.

This was the actual rebreather unit; taking in air from the atmosphere and triple filtering it for toxins and other maladies before pumping it into the helmet and removing any carbon dioxide to be recycled or dumped outside as necessary. In airless environments such as space or underwater, a built in emergency tank would supply around ten minutes of clean oxygen before it needed refilling from an ambient atmosphere. All in all, not bad for a few hours of work.

"Don't sell yourself short, this is exactly what I needed. By the way, how much do I owe you?"

Bob waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Aw shucks, just call it two-kay and we're even. Ya did supply half the parts after all". One short transaction later and both parties were satisfied, Bob bidding them farewell as he yelled out something about saying hi to his kin when they next met.

Once they had returned to the beach, Ellen awkwardly donned the Rebreather with Ratchet's help; the collar expanding to form a snug seal around her neck while the initially stale air in the helmet was quickly replaced with fresh oxygen. The lombax retrieved the O2 mask from the Quick Select that never seemed to leave his side before slipping it onto his head and standing beside the girl who had captivated his heart and mind.

"Well, looks like everything checks out. So, you ready to give these things a test drive?" The lombax's enthusiasm was more than a little infectious, even through the external vocalisers on his helmet. So much so that Ellen couldn't help the bubble of excitement that welled up inside her.

"You're damn right I am. Race you to the bottom!" So saying, she took off into the sea once more, with Ratchet a split second behind. Wading out until her feet no longer touched the sand below, the redhead took in a gulp of air out of habit before diving below the surface into the depths below.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the ocean covering a majority of Jowai was its crystal clarity. Ellen had been diving once before on Earth, and was used to limited visibility and kicked up sediment floating around. The water here however was spotlessly clean, almost artificial in the way that not a single speck marred a breathtaking view that stretched for miles. The depth from the surface to the sea floor was only about forty or so feet, but the sheer amount of life packed into such a relatively small area was stunning. A vibrantly coloured coral reef clustered around the base of a large rock formation that made up one of the many islets above, and stretched out to carpet a wide swathe of the immediate area. Shoals of tiny, silvery fish with brown tiger stripes darted in and out of the underwater forest, while larger individuals, teardrop-shaped with purple and green scales, slowly cruised by above them.

Ellen was torn away from observing the wondrous underwater world by a tap on her shoulder. Whirling around, she saw Ratchet floating alongside her with his hands held up in placation before pointing further ahead to her left. _'Of course, no radios. And the sound of our voices won't carry underwater either.'_

Nodding in understanding, she took off after the lombax as they casually swam through the depths. Here and there was evidence of past volcanic activity; a deep, seemingly bottomless trench scored into the very crust of the planet, and more than a few wrecks to explore. What must have been a decent sized yacht at one point lay half-buried on its side with the bow jutting out of the compacted sediment of the sea floor. The gaping hole in one side made access easy, but made Ellen wonder just what exactly caused the vessel to sink in the first place. A brief search around revealed nothing much of interest, and when her HUD chimed with a two minute warning on her oxygen supply, the redhead signalled her diving buddy that they should surface post haste.

Once they had made it back to the beach, Ellen removed her helmet with a hiss of pressure and a wide smile on her face. "That was amazing, Ratchet!"

The lombax grinned once his O2 mask was clutched under one arm. "I know, I'm awesome like that."

She snorted in amusement while giving his shoulder a light shove. "I was talking about the dive, the reefs, everything. I've never seen anything quite like it before."

They continued to make light conversation as they towelled off near their loungers, Ellen remembering to step back out of range this time when her lombax partner shook the water out of his fur. Clank wasn't in sight for some reason, but neither were too worried about his absence since he was only a phone call away; so she decided to lay back on the reclining beach chairs to catch some sun and dry off, while Ratchet offered to go and get a few drinks.

With the warmth of the sun above and the gentle roll of surf on the shore, Ellen stretched out lazily on her recliner and closed her eyes. After all the emotional and physical crap she had been through this past week, she definitely felt the need for a little 'me' time. Losing a cherished brother, being catapulted across the cosmos by a giant space rock to a whole new galaxy, making new friends, risking their collective hides on an hourly basis, and finding someone special who cared for her in return. The sole human in the Solana galaxy softly sighed to herself. Through all the good times and the bad, it was an experience she would never want to trade for anything else.

...

Hang on a sec.

Cracking open one eye, Ellen cast her gaze in the direction of the wet squelching sound that had interrupted her day dreaming. "Didn't we kill you all already?"

The mutant puffer fish didn't deign an answer as it continued to make a beeline for the human's position with each flop of its body. Reaching instinctively to her side, the human fumbled for her Quick Select only to realise that it was sat with her bundled clothes in one of the shopping bags. With the orange fish closing in by the second, she quickly looked around for something to defend herself with, only to lock eyes with an interesting substitute. And so it was that Ratchet returned with a tray of naxa juice bottles and empty glasses, only to pause at the sight of a bikini-clad human beating the shit out of a mutant fish with a folded up parasol while making her anger heard between each blow.

"Why. Can't. You. Leave. Me. In. _Peace?!_" With a final swing, the overgrown orange creature was sent flying back out to sea and sank with out a trace.

"Uh... Feel any better?"

Ellen gave a sheepish smile back at the stunned looking lombax stood scant feet away as she carefully replaced the now bent parasol. "Um, Yeah, actually. Tell me that's what I think it is, I could do with a good drink."

Pulling their reclining deck chairs together, Ratchet set the drinks tray on the arm rests between the two before taking the right most lounger, while Ellen settled back on the left. Drinks were poured and a pair of glasses were raised in a toast. "Well babe, here's to us."

A smile graced the redhead's lips as she clinked her glass against his. "To us, and every other poor bastard out there who has to deal with the blarg."

The lombax beside her chuckled. "I'll drink to that."

They continued to sup in companionable silence as they gazed out at the calm ocean under a fluffy-clouded blue sky. Ellen idly wondered whether she could clear out the resort's supply of naxa juice to take with them once they left Jowai, while Ratchet's curiosity was drawn to the odd trinket draped around Ellen's neck. "Hey Ellen, I gotta ask; What exactly are those? You've been wearin' them since we met."

It took a second for her to register what he said in her relaxed state before lifting the chain-links over her head and allowing the attached rubber-tipped metal pieces to dangle between her fingers. "You mean this?" At his nod she continued. "It's my brother's dogtags. Back on Earth, soldiers wear them so that medics know what their blood type is or... to identify the body if they don't make it." A soft sigh escaped her lips. "It's the one of the few things I've got left of Simon, other than my memories that is."

A furred hand grasped her own as she stared at the printed characters on the metal tags dangling in front of her eyes. "You know, as long as you've got those memories he's never truly gone. Simon might not be here in person anymore, but he lives on in here." He tapped two fingers where he guessed her heart to be. "In you."

Ellen looked back at him for a moment before shaking her head with a smile. "You know, that is simultaneously the most heart warming and clichéd thing you've ever said to me, fuzz ball."

Ratchet simply shrugged. "Just because I'm good at blowing stuff up, doesn't mean I can't be a little more sensitive when I want to."

They both chuckled good naturedly until Ellen noticed something odd. Was it getting darker? Jowai Resort was supposed to have sunshine twenty-four hours a day, and yet as she turned her gaze out to the horizon, Ellen could clearly sea the sun beginning to sink below the water line; the formerly blue sky gaining the myriad of golden and purple hues that indicated a sunset for the first time in years. "But... what... how?"

Ratchet chuckled at the girl's gawping expression. "It's amazing what you can do if you know the right people."

Ellen looked back at him in disbelief. "You did that?! But how?"

The lombax enjoyed the feeling he got from seeing her face light up in wonder for a few moments before responding. "Simple, really. The solar collectors in orbit are controlled by a ground-based station somewhere in the resort. Once I slipped a few bolts to that novalian guy who runs the place, I found out where it was and... made a few tweaks. Don't worry, they'll be back to normal once the satellites make another orbit." Their eyes met over the top of the clasped hands that held the dogtags between them. "Just thought It might be better than getting you some flowers."

Ellen snorted in mirth at his understatement, her eyes glistening with pent up emotion. How many people could say that their other half had deliberately bribed and sabotaged a network of satellites worth millions just to make a romantic gesture. "You're impossible, fuzz ball."

His eyes twinkled with amusement as he responded. "Just the way you like it, right babe?"

Crystal blue orbs met Emerald green, hearts racing as they wordlessly inched closer together. Nothing would stop them this time, the warmth of their own breath tickling skin and fur while free hands raised to cup the other's cheek. And then, they made contact.

Pink lips parted slightly to accommodate the larger feline's, the sensation electric and causing the most wondrous shudder to tingle through both of their bodies. As their passion deepened, so did their kiss; tongues initially dormant springing to life, probing and exploring each other in darting motions that soon gave way to lavishing caresses. It was a moment neither truly wished to end, but alas the body requires oxygen to breathe. Parting slightly, Ellen breathed heavily with the mixture of emotions flowing through her being in a mirror of the dreamy-expressioned lombax in front of her.

"So, was it good for you too?"

He laughed good naturedly through his own shallow breathing. "Oh yeah... But, I think we might need a little more... _practice._"

She giggled unabashedly. "I think we can arrange that." So saying, she locked lips with him once again even as the drinks tray spilled on the sand and Ellen ended up sharing a lounger with her lombax paramour; their eyes closed and simply relishing each other's company while the sun sank further below the horizon.

From the edge where the resort met the sand of the gloriously golden beach, Clank watched his compatriots finally express their feelings to each other with a faint smile before turning to leave them in peace. Having analysed the heightened signals both organics gave off along with their previous behaviour, and cross-referenced them with his own data banks, he had concluded, correctly it seemed, that they wished to court each other. Since discretion seemed to be the better part of valour, he had decided to give them some space while he finished working on a few ideas, including the Wrist Com hacking upgrade he had promised. He cast a last glance over his shoulder at the new couple silhouetted against the setting sun, and though no one was there to hear him, he couldn't resist saying what was on his processor.

"It is about time."

* * *

**After so long, yes it was. This chapter still doesn****'****t quite feel as good as it could be, but maybe that****'****s just me worrying unnecessarily. In any case, we****'****re back to the action next chapter, and I expect it to be a non-stop race against time from here on out.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	16. Chapter 16: Resolutions & Refineries

**Author****'****s note:**

**Well, we****'****re nearly at the final act. From here on out it****'****ll pretty much be a non-stop race against time with little chance for any more major character development. That said, I think the bonds between Ratchet and Ellen will strengthen more so under fire due to having to rely upon each other so heavily to survive. So, um, yeah****…**** Fluff will be minimal for a while, but that doesn****'****t mean I can****'****t put a smattering in here and there.**

**Review replies:**

**Br2nd66 - Why thank you, although there are several really well written R &amp; C stories hidden in the FF archives if you know where to look.**

**Pokecats649 - Glad you approve, hopefully you****'****ll like this chapter too.**

**destiny - I****'****d just started a new game on Rip Tide and my brain kind of made the random connection. Thanks again.**

**Sonachugirl - You suspected right. I did kind of drag this arc out quite a bit, but this felt like the best place to bring it to a head before the final act begins. Thank you once again.**

**ReginaDC21 - Ah, the wonderful world of customer service. People tend to forget that the person behind the counter has thoughts and feelings too. Having a go at shop staff amazingly doesn't make things go any quicker; especially when they've had to put up with the same crap from a dozen other people previously that day. Been there more than once. Don't worry about the review length, I don't mind; just happy to hear from you.**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - 1) That actually came about from a combination of the ****'****Tuxedo Ratchet****'**** skin from the original trilogy with it****s**** combed barnet, Alistair Azimuth****'****s smooth-furred head, and me coming up with random ideas as to what Ratchet keeps under that leather flying cap permanently glued to his head.**

**2) It was a long time coming, and I figured it was better to happen sooner than not with everything coming up soon.**

**Quite a few new favourites and follows this week. My thanks to Jewel Thief-Amethyst and Br2nd66 for adding this story to your favourites and follows respectively, as well as CL0cKW3rK and bubbacakes for doing both as well all those who make up my established readership. Thank you one and all.**

**I**** aim ****to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**So****… ****very****… ****tired****…**** Hope you enjoy Chapter 16, I****'****m going back to bed as soon as I post this.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 16: **

**Resolutions &amp; Refineries**

* * *

**Kogor Refinery, Orxon**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**6:18pm local time**

"Well that wasn't there last time."

Two sets of eyes and optics followed Ellen's pointing finger towards the bulky cargo freighter docked alongside one of the abandoned facilities as the tour shuttle descended through the thick contaminants of Orxon's dreary atmosphere. "It's gotta be a blarg ship, they must be getting ready to clean house."

Clank acknowledged his lombax companion's theory with a slight tilt of his head. "That is the most logical assumption. Perhaps there is something of value they wish to recover."

Ellen hummed in thought. "Or stop anyone else from taking it. Either way, we better get down there before it's too late."

As soon as their ship had landed and the engines had spooled down, both lombax and human equipped their respective breathing gear and ran a final check before popping the canopy. Thankfully the toxic air didn't seem to affect their bodies, other than their ability to breath, so nothing should be melting off or mutating any time soon. Still, standing on the edge of the cliff side plateau where they had landed previously gave an unrivalled panoramic view of the planet's eerie, and dangerous, beauty while the odd cargo hauler rumbled overhead.

It was in its own way the ultimate example of natural selection in action; the very plants, birds, and other natural life forced to adapt to an increasingly harsh environment or otherwise perish. Pterodactyl-like avians cruised through the darkened sky, thermal updrafts keeping their fleshy membrane-covered wings aloft as they searched for their next meal. The canopy on the few surviving trees looked as if someone had lumped a keg of sticky toffee on top, considering the way it drooped over the thin branches in a syrupy fashion, while small spiky blue scrub and bizarre purple tubular growths clung to numerous rock formations and cliff edges. Far below that however was a vast lake of glowing, bile green acidic waste that flooded vast swathes of the area and gave off a stench that even their air filters couldn't scrub out.

"Cheerful," Ellen quipped.

Ratchet shook his head with a snort of amusement. "C'mon, let's get going."

So saying, he bounded across to a tall outlet pipe jutting from the acid lake at the foot of the cliff before using Clank's Thruster Pack to safely glide down to the overgrown plateau far below. Rolling her eyes at the golden-furred feline's over dramatic approach, his human partner simply opted for a small anti-gravity lift near the landing pad that bought her down to the same place without the fuss. "Heh, sorry 'bout that. Forgot you couldn't take the fun way."

She shrugged at the apologetic lombax. "S'alright, just warn me before you pull something like that next time, yeah?"

So caught up in their conversation as they were, neither noticed the slumbering giant crustacean mere feet ahead of them until they accidentally bumped in to it. Startled awake, the creature bared its fangs and took a swipe with over-sized claws that the human and lombax barely managed to avoid as they jumped back in unison. With practiced ease, Ellen quickly drew her Blaster and held down the trigger while Ratchet tossed a bomb at the surprisingly resilient mutant beast; their combined firepower shattering its carapace just before it could get up close once more.

Poking the perforated and now thoroughly dead crustacean with his foot, Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a little too close. We're really gonna have to watch our step around here."

Ellen nodded in agreement as she willed her racing heart to calm down from the sudden shock while Clank piped up. "It would appear that this species is extremely territorial. We would be wise to avoid any unnecessary confrontation."

Taking the sentient machine's advice to heart, Ratchet disabled the force field blocking their path by smashing the power core with his wrench, while Ellen took point with her machine pistol levelled and eyes sweeping the area ahead. A shrill cry made her head jerk up to see a pair of the bat-winged avians almost on top of her as they dove in to attack the human head on, talons raking her back as she ducked a split second later. Hissing in pain, Ellen levelled her Blaster at the departing birds as they banked around for a second run and squeezed off an extended burst that dropped it from the sky, while its partner found itself engulf in a stream of flame courtesy of Ratchet's Pyrocitor.

"Ellen, you all right? How bad is it?"

She grimaced as the pain died down to a dull throb, nanites no doubt working overtime to repair the damage to her torn flesh. Thank God for Nanotech. "Hurts like hell, but I'll live. Looks like we'll have to watch the sky too from now on."

Following the pathway around an overgrown rock formation, they soon came across a gaping chasm between them and the larger plateau on the other side, where more of those giant crab things lay sleeping. Using a pair of crumbling vent stacks as stepping stones, the pair made it to the other side unscathed and on alert while they quietly gave the slumbering beasts a wide berth. They had almost made it to the force field segregating this area from the next when a sudden cawing followed by a flying blue blur shot up in front of them. This odd creature looked like a plump, flying blue amoeboid, with stubby legs and tiny fluttering wings as it hovered above the duo indignantly before moving over to cry out loudly over a pair of the red armoured crustaceans nearby. The effect was instantaneous, the docile creatures jolting awake and stalking towards the interlopers with wicked claws extended and malicious intent in their beady eyes.

Not wasting any time, Ratchet and Ellen split apart to make themselves harder targets as they spammed explosives at their pursuers; the creatures' carapaces absorbing several direct hits before cracking under the volley of high explosives raining down on them. Both human and lombax reoriented themselves upon hearing the annoying blue creature cry out again, followed by another of the crab-like red mutants charging their position. After blowing it off the plateau into the acid lake below, the pair caught a glimpse of blue flying past much too fast for Ellen's machine pistol to track as rounds stitched a line in the cliff face to their left until their quarry disappeared over the top.

"Damn I hate that thing."

Ratchet patted the human's shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry, we'll get 'em. You'll just have to shoot first before it wakes up the rest next time."

The two yellow power cores flanking the force field were severed with Omni-Wrench and Versa Blade, causing the device to flicker and die before the team stepped through the gate and continued on. That is, until the short path forked in front of them where another Gadgetron vendor sat up against a large reactor building. "We're going to have to split up again, aren't we?"

Ratchet sighed at the redhead's question before nodding slowly in response. "Yeah, we are. With the blarg here, we gotta move fast if we want to know what they're hiding, and the only way to do that is if we both go separate ways. I think I oughta take the right though; dunno if you could make it without Clank on your back."

She had to agree, seeing as she doubted being able to clear the first hurdle - a fifteen foot gap over the acid lake to a sheer metal-lined, ten foot high wall adjoining a raised platform with no hand holds - without a Thruster Pack of her own. "Fair enough. But at least let me clear the way for you."

So saying, Ellen equipped her Visibomb Gun as she strode to stand beside the lombax. Holding the launcher at a thirty degree angle, she let off a single TV guided missile before steering it into a dive that saw it detonate in the middle of a quartet of sleeping mutant crustaceans that lay on the raised platform.

Ratchet grinned appreciatively with a chuckle as bits of carapace and severed appendages continued to rain down around them. "Thanks babe, just... take it easy. I'll see you on the other side."

With that, he boosted across the gap with the aid of Clank's Thruster Pack upgrade and hauled himself up on to the platform, disappearing from the human's sight shortly thereafter. Rolling her shoulders, Ellen turned around and retraced her steps back to the vendor before taking the only remaining path on the incline, following alongside the reactor housing exterior and attached complex.

{()}

Briefly pausing to watch Ellen go, Ratchet turned back to the task at hand in time to watch an infobot take off just in front of him. Cursing himself for not paying attention, the lombax used his Magna Boots to stick to the ventilation shaft running vertically up a storage silo and proceeded to follow the snaking path past large industrial pipes that could fit a sky car. Dodging the sporadic jets of flame that sprung from outlet pipes in the ducting with careful timing, he soon found himself suspended upside down underneath one of the vast pipes with angry mutant birds looking to take a chunk out of him.

The first avian almost took him by surprise, inherent reflexes being the only thing saving the lombax from a gouged eye as he brought up his wrench to defend himself. The first bird was sent sprawling as the weaponized tool smacked it aside in time for a second to have its head caved in. A third made a pass with its talons that drew blood, only to receive a glancing blow to the rear that sent it off course with an indignant screech, while the first recovered from its daze and decided to find easier prey elsewhere.

Descending down the ducting on the far side without further incident, Ratchet allowed a few moments for the blood to rush back into his head and the subtle sense of disorientation to pass as he cautiously took in the fenced off area in front of him. The only way out lay past the force field he could see just below his raised perch, but unfortunately the power supply seemed to be on the other side, and that was guarded by four, currently resting, big red crustaceans spread out on the narrow ledge; beyond which the acid lake could be seen way down below. 'No pressure then...'

Ratchet's contemplation on how to get past the fence with all his bits intact was interrupted when Clank spoke up. "Ratchet, the force field appears to be poorly maintained and likely to power down if struck by significant force. Perhaps we could lure the creatures into attacking the fence, thus eliminating both problems in one fell swoop."

The lombax shrugged. Might as well give it a shot.

Sucking down a gulp of air, he proceeded to very loudly toss out several demeaning insults and colourful expletives in both markazian common and galactic standard at the snoozing mutants; most of which Clank wished he hadn't looked up to find the meanings considering how... crude they were. "Ratchet, it is biologically impossible for these creatures to self fornicate. I do not believe they possess the correct anatomy for such a practice, and they do not appear to be swayed by your vulgar terminology."

Ratchet drew a breath into his nigh empty lungs before tossing a scowl over his shoulder. "Oh yeah? Then what do you suggest? These guys'll sleep through anything."

The small robot paused in thought. "Not everything. One moment..."

It took a few seconds to custom compile a tailored audio file before Clank broadcast the same warning cry as the winged blue creature they had encountered previously. The effect was immediate; four sets of spiky carapace on scuttling legs jumping up and, upon spotting the lombax, threw themselves at the still active force field in order to get at him. It was morbidly fascinating to watch the hulking armoured mutants mindlessly tear themselves to pieces as the protective powered fence flickered and weakened with each impact. Eventually though, the last creature fell, and a tentatively thrown stone overpowered and deactivated the fritzed force field for good.

"Why didn't you think of that in the first place instead of making me waste my breath?"

Clank shrugged in an imitation of the lombax's earlier gesture, even if he couldn't physically be seen while on Ratchet's back. "It did not occur to me, and besides which you appeared to be enjoying yourself by demonstrating your extended vocabulary to the local wildlife."

Groaning in frustration, Ratchet stepped through the ruined gateway and past the chargrilled remains of not quite shell fish out on to the narrow ridge beyond, which gave a good sense of just how big the sprawling refinery actually was. Using his Swingshot to relay between two sets of Versa-Targets, the lombax sailed through the air to land on an overgrown platform ringing a distillation tower sat in the middle of the acid lake; but not before bringing his wrench down on an unsuspecting mutant bird mid-air as he landed with a thump. A second bird screeched out at its friend's loss before attempting to dive bomb the golden-furred feline alongside another, only for both to be neatly sidestepped and sent packing with a broad sweep of the lombax's tool of the trade. Catching sight of the infobot again as it fled around the curving stone-lined path, Ratchet took off in pursuit once more while fervently hoping that Ellen wasn't taking any unnecessary risks.

{()}

After leaving Ratchet to his own devices, Ellen cautiously made her way past scattered explosive crates with her eyes peeled and her Blaster at the ready; determined not to be caught off guard this time. She hadn't gotten far up the sloping incline however when one of the saucer-esque blarg fighters pulled out of an opening in the refinery right in front of her before spinning around to hover a short distance away in order to align it's weapons on the lone human.

"You've _got_ to be shitting me."

Apparently the blarg pilot thought otherwise since he sent a quartet of dumb-fired missiles straight at her with the press of a button. Eyes widening, Ellen threw herself sideways behind the relative safety of a large industrial pipe as the incoming missiles detonated; tearing chunks of earth and stone out of the path where she had stood scant seconds before. Suppressing a yelp of fear at the jaw rattling explosions, Ellen remained huddled behind her scorched hiding spot while she switched out her machine pistol for something a bit more effective.

Keeping the industrial pipe between her and the enemy, Ellen backed off a few steps while facing the flyer's direction with her Visibomb Gun braced and ready. Angling the launcher slightly to the left, she let loose a TV guided missile before using the joypad to wrench it into a hard right turn that had it fly an elliptical path and saw the now desperately evading blarg ship rapidly fill the view screen. Peeking around her cover once the resounding boom had petered out, Ellen confirmed that the black-painted bulbous fighter was down before picking her way through the few pieces of flaming wreckage that decorated the narrow path around the reactor. Reaching the end, she used a jumble of haphazardly stacked crates in order to reach the ledge above and pull herself up to what was probably once a maintenance access way considering the large quantity of exposed pipes and wiring adorning the walls.

If the missile launching ship wasn't enough proof of a concentrated blarg presence on the planet, the surprised hazmat trooper in front of Ellen definitely solidified her opinion as she cut him down with a hail of bullets before he could react. The next room along was larger but empty bar a pile of abandoned crates and shipping containers, unlike the adjoining passageway where Ellen was forced to jump back as a wall of flame announced the presence of a similarly attired blarg trying to burn her face off. A few hastily thrown bombs around the door frame seemed to do the trick, and apparently knocked out the power core keeping the force field on the storage room's exit sealed as well if the shattered housing was anything to go by.

Becoming increasingly paranoid over the planet's inhabitants penchant for trying to kill her, Ellen pressed up against the wall and took a quick peek around the exit's doorframe. Thankfully the only hostile thing in sight was a lone blarg hazmat trooper, which she picked off from afar with her machine pistol before taking cautious steps outside. Loud cawing announced the arrival of three leathery-winged mutant birds, shortly joined by a fourth as they hovered on the updrafts between darting to and fro. Since there wasn't any way past without incurring their wrath, Ellen squeezed off a short burst at the closest bird before swinging the barrel of her Blaster to the next; using the avians' brief moment of confusion to drop another before the survivors could swoop down on her exposed position.

Seeing as her ammo supply was dwindling, Ellen opted to draw her Versa Blade as the two avians snapped back their wings and dove at her in a predictable straight line with talons flexing. She neatly dodged the first with inches to spare before thumbing the button on her knife's hilt and swinging it in a broad under arm sweep that sliced the bird almost in half. The enraged second barrelled into her, actually knocking the human down before pecking at her helmet in an effort to get to her eyes. Ellen managed to force the flying mutant off of her scratched rebreather with her free hand while the knife in her right plunged into its exposed neck, causing it to gurgle briefly before falling limp.

Pushing the body off of her, the redhead took a few moments to breathe and try to calm down before getting shakily to her feet. A quick check revealed that the helmet was thankfully intact and fully functional other than a few scrapes and gouges to the exterior; good to know since a breach would mean a slowly suffocating death. Suppressing a shudder, Ellen made her way to the end of the cliff edge only to groan when she realised her only route forward would involve hopping over a meandering line of ventilation come smoke stacks across the acid lake leading to the large facility on the other side.

No more than three jumps in, a whine of engines had her head snapping up and eyes widening as another black-painted blarg saucer ship cruised overhead before turning to engage her from a distance. Not taking any chances in such an exposed position, Ellen dove off the top of the stack she was perched on into the shadow of broken communication tower set on a narrow ledge to her right. Surprised but thankful that the blarg pilot hadn't saturated her exposed position with explosive rain, she pulled out her Visibomb Gun in a repeat of her early tactic and sent a TV guided missile around the tower to obliterate the waiting vessel in short order.

Completing her series of hops across to the relative safety of the other side with no further incident other than narrowly avoiding landing on a sleeping giant crustacean, Ellen's breath hitched momentarily before righting her balance and using a nearby mutant tree to support herself as she gingerly lowered her flailing leg. Breathing a sigh of relief, she cautiously crept forward past the slumbering creature only to pause at a blue-tinged piping protruding from the wall on her right. Curiosity piqued, Ellen squatted down only for an evil smirk to creep onto her face at the sight of the plump, screeching winged mutant from earlier visible on the far side. With her Blaster held steadily with both hands, the human set her sights on target before releasing a pent up breath and slowly squeezing the trigger.

The single bullet flew straight and true through the narrow pipe; striking the lethargic creature straight in the face and ending its life without even being aware its jubilant killer. "Ha! That's for earlier, you little bastard!"

Busy as she was fist pumping, it took a second for Ellen to realise that she had spoken out loud, and that she was just three feet away from another slumbering mutant crab thing. Slowly edging away, the redhead breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't wake up before proceeding with caution to the edge of the platform, where more of the ventilation-come-smoke stacks led around the corner to the next area.

_'Guess we can sneak by these things after all. I just hope Ratchet's not wasting time blowing everything up.'_

{()}

Ratchet groaned upon dropping the force field at the sight of the crustacean choked path following the cliff side in front of him. "Seriously? How many more of these things are there?!"

The past ten minutes had been a non-stop trail of rockets, bombs, burnt chunks of carapace, and the occasional random bird thrown into the mix as the lombax negotiated the treacherous mutant-filled path around the distillation tower and up a spire lined with harsh brush and drooping trees in pursuit of that damn infobot. And now the stupid thing just sat there hovering among the oversized mutant crabs, waiting for him to lunge forward so that it could take off again just to spite him.

With a resigned sigh, he equipped his Devastator and sighted on the nearest red carapace-covered beast before pulling the trigger twice, since experience taught him that the first shot would merely crack the shell. With the resounding twin explosions reverberating through the valley, the remaining seven crustaceans leapt up from their slumber before bearing down on the lombax en masse. Ratchet's launcher sent rocket after rocket into the approaching horde; tearing apart three of their number and blowing off a fourth's limbs before cycling empty with a dull click. Switching to his Bomb Glove, the lombax frantically back-pedalled while spamming the crowding swarm with explosives as they clustered around the bottleneck presented by the force field gate way until none remained.

With the last mutant slumping at his feet, Ratchet edged past the still twitching corpse and set off at a brisk jog after the infernal infobot which persisted on flying away every time he got close. Passing a jagged rock formation to his right, he made to follow the tiny machine around a corner as it skimmed along the cliff side path, only to skid to a halt as a hovering black-painted blarg ship like the ones he'd previously encountered in the skies over Pokitaru rose up from the valley below to point its array of weapons his way.

Instinct took over as he rolled to his left before backflipping twice to land behind an outcrop as punishing missile salvos rained down around his position; leaving the lombax trapped by the heavily armed flying machine. With no rockets left and no way of getting close to deliver any bombs without being shredded, Ratchet regretted once again not buying any other ranged weapons which would have easily allowed him to pop out and shoot from a distance. Actually, maybe he did have something that would work...

Skimming through his Quick Select, Ratchet pulled out his Suck Cannon and set to work vacuuming up any debris that looked hefty enough to do some damage; loose rocks, crates, and even chunks of broken carapace soon filling the sub-space storage tank to capacity. Sucking in a breath, the lombax wheeled around his cover to face the waiting blarg saucer ship; deftly leaping and flipping over another volley of dumb-fired missiles before launching his own counter response. It wasn't possible to tell from a distance, but the blarg pilot must have been unpleasantly surprised by the chunks of stone, metal, and body parts suddenly slamming into his canopy with enough force to crack and then shatter the reinforced glass before crushing him in his ejection seat. The bulbous fighter craft began to spin wildly out of control a few seconds later, clipping the edge of the cliff and wrenching off a wing before plummeting into the acid lake below with a harsh finality.

"Can't believe that actually worked," Ratchet chuckled as he resumed his dogged pursuit.

"You do appear to have a knack for the unorthodox and illogical, although I can not disprove their effectiveness so far."

The lombax didn't answer Clank's musings as he had finally cornered that damn infobot inside the hollow interior of what looked like a large storage silo of sorts. "Now I got you!"

The infobot apparently thought otherwise since it simply ascended with it's small anti-gravity drive to the top of the silo, making Ratchet growl in frustration as he lunged forth and used his Magna Boots to climb up the metal-lined interior after it. Pushing through a maintenance hatch at the top, he finally managed to snag the illusive machine as it hovered in wait just in front of him. The lombax sighed in relief as Clank hopped down and the infobot opened up to play it's message. "Finally! Let's see what this little guy's been hiding."

The beaming face of Drek filled the screen as he postured on a metal railed platform on what looked like the surface of a snow covered planet. "Hello again everyone! Supreme Executive Chairman Drek here to fill you in on our progress." The camera kept pace with him as he continued to speak while strolling along a walkway made up of frost-encrusted conveyor belts. "We have now found the perfect orbit for our planet, one which will allow for the optimum temperature; _all year round!_ However, there is a planet now occupying that orbit, and sadly for its few insignificant inhabitants, it must be _destroyed._ That's why we've created this; the Planet Buster Maximus."

The camera zoomed out from a gesturing Drek to show him dwarfed by a skyscraper-sized silver missile with an orange mid-section, balanced upon a launch pad of sorts between a looming warship and an equally large sprawling factory in the background set amidst a series of icy peaks. The camera's view changed once again to show Drek posturing in front of the ridiculously huge tail section of the deadly device as he continued his monologue, while a taller red-tinged blarg scientist inspected it with a clipboard held under one arm behind him. "A device capable of blowing an _entire_ planet into sub-atomic particles! We're quite proud of it." He gestured off screen while continuing, the screen briefly showing a close up of the anchored warship before returning to the short-statured megalomaniac.

"Here's how it works; We attach the Planet Buster to this ship, fly it into orbit around the planet, and let it go! Kaboom! Heh heh, quite ingenious really." While Drek was chuckling in mirth, the scientist in the background stepped back to get a better look at the enormous WMD, only to teeter a little too close to the end of the platform. "Once our trained professionals put the finishing touches on our new planet, everything will be complete!" The scientist finally overbalanced with windmilling arms as he plummeted over the edge of the platform while the camera concentrated on Drek's smiling visage as he gave a cheery wave. "Thank you! Goodbye."

Clank took custody of the infobot while Ratchet's eyes widened with horrified realisation. "Now this guy's gonna blow up an entire _planet?_ That's just... _mean!_"

The sentient machine gave him a petulant look. "That is what I have been telling you."

The lombax sighed deeply, the O2 mask preventing him from rubbing his eyes as he tried to think of a response. "Look, I'm still gunning for Qwark. But if we end up taking out Drek too, heh, fine!" A small smile tinged Clank's metallic features, his glowing green optics half shuttered as he looked up at his uncomfortable looking companion. "What?!"

His smile never faltered, even in the face of the lombax's defensive retort and exaggerated shrug. "You do care."

Ratchet's eyes narrowed as he jabbed a finger at the small robot. "Don't push it pal." It may have seemed aloof, but those that knew him best could tell that his posturing was a product of pride and habit rather than the harshness exhibited before. Progress is progress after all, not matter how small it may be.

Hopping down on to a metal mesh bridge across a vat of acid in the room below, Ratchet grudgingly followed Clank's directions out of the facility he had previously explored and back to the ship. With any luck, Ellen would be there waiting for them.

{()}

With the blarg transport vessel potentially taking off any minute, Ellen couldn't afford to lose another second trying to slip past the marauding wildlife, and so resorted to brute force instead. With her Visibomb Gun hefted, she steadied herself on her precarious perch atop a probable smoke stack high above the acid lake and let a missile fly at the greatest concentration of sleeping mutant crabs at the back of the fenced in platform in front of her. She didn't even wait for the rain of chargrilled carapace to settle down before leaping forth on to the artificially smoothed stone surface, weaving between the remaining crustaceans as they awoke and leaving a few Glove of Doom spheres in her wake. While the cackling, miniature exploding drones kept the creatures distracted, the redhead made her way towards the field generator powering the force field at the far end, severing the connection and pushing on to the exit before anything could catch up.

A single bomb toss detonated the carelessly stacked crates on the far side of the short but deep chasm between Ellen's current position and the plateau beyond, giving her a safe spot to land as she backed up and took a flying leap across. Tucking into a roll to cushion the impact, she pushed herself upright just as a two pairs of snapping pincers attached to a duo of equally disgruntled mutated crustaceans came scuttling towards her. Ellen jumped back while swinging wildly with her Versa Blade at the closest giant crab-like creature; a glancing blow making it hiss and recoil long enough for her to hastily draw her machine pistol and hold down the trigger until it moved no more. The second barrelled past its fallen counterpart intent on rending the human apart, only for a cluster of thrown bombs to shatter and pulp it's carapace before it could even get close.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Ellen nimbly hopped over to the raised dock where the transport ship was anchored via some conveniently placed, corroded ventilation housing units. Edging forward, her trigger finger acted quicker than her brain as a blarg hazmat trooper came running her way from behind a cluster of black metal storage tanks; a burst of Blaster fire clipping his shoulder and sending him tumbling off of the mesh-grilled, glorified gantry to the acid basin below. The clanging of boots meeting metal alerted her to another sealed suited soldier as she pressed forward through the mess of crates, specimen containers, and miscellaneous recovered devices that adorned the dock beside the lumbering blarg cargo vessel.

Dropping him in a similar fashion, Ellen swept the rest of the dock for any more; leaving a cluster of Glove of Doom drones to cover the ship while she took an elevator at the end of the dock up into the abandoned facility. Gingerly stepping off of the lift, the human stepped past the stacks of crates lining what was probably once the dock master's office and found herself standing before the only piece of machinery still running. Bringing her Wrist Com up to eye level, she used the built in translator app to read the blocky writing on the face of what looked like a vending machine considering the familiar layout of buttons with pictures depicting various products on the flat screen monitor set into the upper portion.

"'Premium Nanotech', huh? I wonder..."

The prices were frankly extortionate; four grand a piece for what amounted to a glorified coke can! But the results, if she was reading it right, would speak for themselves, since one 500ml can would boost the production of nanites in her bloodstream by an extra twenty percent; increasing healing and resistance to poison and disease expeditiously. Since she couldn't find a way to pry the machine open, Ellen grudgingly decided to buy two Premium Nanotech drinks; one each for her and Ratchet. She would have liked to have gotten the even more potent Ultra Nanotech version, but an empty bank balance and the eye watering cost of 30,000 bolts each kind of put her off.

Taking a small access lift in the back of the room down a level, Ellen followed a repurposed branching cave system into a more modernised metal-lined tunnel all the way back to the facility entrance, where the tour shuttle still lay on the landing pad with a bored looking lombax visible in the cockpit. Taking the same approach as Clank did last time, she entered via the rear cargo access ramp and stood through the decontamination procedure in the airlock before stepping through into the cargo bay and removing her Rebreather with a cleansing breath of freshly cycled air.

Squeezing through the hatch separating the spacious rear from the compact cockpit, Ellen couldn't help but smile at her two companions not arguing for once. "I'm back boys, find anything interesting while I was gone?"

After a quick recap on both counts, the redhead cursed inwardly at Drek's increasingly audacious tactics. "He's insane. What makes him think he can get away with destroying a whole planet? People tend to get a bit upset about that sort of thing."

Clank shook his head at her understatement. "It could be a sign of desperation to reassert his superiority. In any case, we are the only ones in a position to stop him now."

Ratchet grimaced in acknowledgement. "That guy is seriously messed up."

Her eyes widening briefly in remembrance, Ellen opened her Quick Select and drew out two silver cans with a stylised 'N' embossed on the side, passing one to the lombax before opening one for herself. "Almost forgot I bought these. Figured they might come in handy considering how bad things are getting."

Ratchet grinned in appreciation. "Premium Nanotech, sweet!" He downed the contents in one go before letting out a belch of satisfaction.

Ellen rolled her eyes before supping her liquefied medical supplement at a more sedate pace. "Great manners."

The lombax snickered in response. "Better out than in."

Once both had finished the cold beverages with a metallic-tinged aftertaste, everyone had assumed their normal seating positions and buckled up before taking off with a roar of turbines for yet another potentially hostile world. only this time, the fate of an entire planet lay firmly in theirs hands. No pressure.

* * *

**And so the race to stop Drek begins. See you all same time next week.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	17. Chapter 17: Polar Caps & Planet Busters

**Author****'****s note:**

**I always found Hoven a fun level to play; trying to write for it and make it interesting though****…****is pretty damn difficult. This one gave me quite a few headaches, and I ended up deleting and rewriting as good third of the story due to it just not working out the way I thought it should. That said, I think the end result is a hell of a lot better in terms of action and pacing. I can only hope you all enjoy it as much as my last offering.**

**Review replies:**

**TheMountainandTheVolcano - Yes he is. I love writing for Clank, even though I probably don****'****t give him enough ****'****screen time****'**** as such. I think it****'****s the way he manages to mix a keen and intellectual mind with an almost child like innocence that makes him such a great character.**

**destiny - Thank you, I hope you like this one too.**

**Remy - ****…****Kay? Not sure how I****'****d update if I was dead (unless I went zombie) but I****'****m glad you you****'****ve enjoyed the story so far. I****'****ve mentioned this in previous review replies, and it****'****s on my profile as well; unless stated otherwise, this story will be updated once a week every Sunday morning (London GMT) Much as I****'****d like to update faster, unfortunately the responsibilities of real life make hammering out a typically 5000+ words chapter every week a bit of a stretch.**

**Sonachugirl - I know the feeling, I****'****m just happy to have heard from you. With luck, this chapter will live up to your expectations too. Thanks again.**

**Hello and thank you to Eve Kagamine for adding this story to your favourites along with Digital Riddle whom is also following as well. Not forgetting the rest of you wonderful people who make up my established readership. Thank you.**

**To improve as a writer is my goal, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**I was going to put a bad ice joke in this space, until I realised that****'****s snow way to start Chapter 17. Enjoy!**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 17: **

**Polar Caps &amp; Planet Busters**

* * *

**Bomb Factory, Hoven**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**7:23am local time**

"Damn it's cold."

Ellen rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Ratchet, it's ten degrees below freezing and you're not even wearing a shirt; of course you're cold."

The lombax shot her a glare. "Well how come it doesn't affect you? I'm freezing my tail off here!"

She smirked back at him; partly for getting one over on her beau, but mostly because there really were little icicles hanging cartoonishly from the tufted pommel of his tail. "That's because you're used to Veldin and scorching temperatures every day. In Scotland we only have two seasons; June, and winter. Now stop being such a Jessie and let's get going."

With that she turned on her heels, boots crunching across the thick blanket of snow under foot as the shivering lombax stomped after her. "Stupid ice planet. The sooner we find that bomb, the better."

The area where they had landed in the shadow of a vast dockyard was officially designated on galactic maps as a raritanium mining operation that had been shut down before being purchased, expanded, and reopened by the blarg. Drek's none too subtle broadcast said otherwise though, especially given the flights of light-attack helicopters buzzing around the facilities airspace plus whatever ground defences they had set up and waiting. Ellen got the impression that the blarg's supreme leader knew exactly who they were, especially since Qwark worked for him, and was merely laying out another trap to lure them in. The problem was that there was no way they could ignore the potential threat posed by the planet busting weapon of mass destruction, and at least the ominous shadow of the massive warship supposed to carry it lurking overhead gave some credence to Drek telling the truth.

"That must be the ship that will transport the bomb." Clank mused aloud.

Ratchet merely snorted. "Ya think? Great work detective."

Ellen stood waiting next to a Gadgetron vendor by the cobble stone path cutting through the snow, her foot tapping impatiently. "Wasting time here boys, that ship's not going to hang around forever."

Once both human and lombax had replenished their ammo reserves, they set out at a light jog down the cleared path meandering past the storage sheds and small thickets of snow-covered, almost pine trees that lined the narrow strip of land between the two basins of arctic water on either side. close to a large two storey silo, a cluster of waist high, grey prune-like creatures with clawed appendages jumped out of their hiding places in the snow drifts to either side and charged straight at the pair with jaws agape. By now such tactics were old hat to the well armed duo however, and so it was little surprise that the attackers were quickly cut down by a series of short two round bursts and gouts of flame without their intended victims breaking stride.

Rounding the corner of the silo, it was only such prior experience that let the lombax and human dive aside as a glint of metal and a flash of mauve followed by the crack of rifle fire echoed over their heads. From behind a large cluster of pine trees, a squad of five blarg regular infantry charged forth with weapons in hand and held ready. Ellen dove behind a compacted bank of snow blown up around the base of the silo as a fresh volley of gunfire pocked the surrounding snow; her machine pistol chattering its own response even as a blarg trooper prepared to toss a grenade her way. Ratchet on the other hand had decided to exploit Clank's Thruster Pack upgrade and used it to boost towards the nearest foe, ducking under a descending rifle butt to the face before countering with his wrench.

Having tossed back the grenade thrown her way, Ellen using the ensuing panic she had caused to gun down two blarg as they dove out of the blast radius, shortly before ducking back down to avoid the murderous return fire. With the enemy concentrated on his partner, Ratchet was able to boost in close and ignite the remaining two troopers with his Pyrocitor from the side. Three more blarg infantry burst out of a storage shed further down the path snaking around the silo, only to be cut down by Blaster fire and a few well tossed bombs before they could muster any resistance. The chilly air fogged from their exhaled breath as Ratchet helped pull Ellen out of the pock-marked snow drift before the two set off down the path once again. If there was any doubt that Drek was waiting to strike at them before, it was non-existent now.

They moved forward in tandem, wary of another ambush with so little cover around. Their caution was warranted as a stack of crates ahead and slightly to the right of the cobblestone path detonated in a shower of shrapnel that would surely have killed them had they been but a few feet closer to the blast. Following the triggered detonation, three more blarg troopers leapt up to spring the second phase of their trap with rifles blazing. A hastily launched rocket from Ratchet's Devastator sent two of their foe's broken bodies flying to crumple in the snow, while Ellen tossed a pair of bombs over a short stone wall to tag the soldier sheltering behind it.

"I get the impression they don't like us. You think they've got more surprises waiting on the docks?"

Ratchet nodded grimly to the red-head's question. "Bet on it. But what choice do we have?"

"Perhaps we may find an alternate route up there."

Following Clank's extended arm, both lombax and human glanced at the anti-gravity lift platform linking the ground with a ice-lined cave leading back through the surrounding mountain high above them before looking at each other. Ratchet shrugged. "Worth a shot, I guess."

Ellen checked the remaining ammo on her Blaster before stepping forth. "Let's just hope you're right. As soon as they figure out their soldiers aren't reporting in, any chance we've got of stopping that ship is gone."

Crouched with weapons raised, the two armed organics and one robot swept the entrance of the cave before stepping off the lift and halting just inside. With Ratchet taking point, Ellen trailed just behind him with her Blaster pointing over the top of his shorter frame as they advanced deeper into the darkened, stalactite festooned interior.

Their caution was verified once again as yet another squad of blarg infantry opened fire, the muzzle flashes of their weapons temporarily highlighting them in the gloomy cave. Ratchet's flamethrower lit up the area with burnished orange, the chatter of Ellen's machine pistol interspersing with that of the blarg's own rifles as the duo hastily retreated back to the cave entrance. As predicted, the reddish-purple skinned soldiers pursued without hesitation; right into a hastily prepared trap. Bunched up as they were, the troopers were easy pickings for the combined fire of both human and lombax once they cleared the slight bend at the mouth of the cave in their haste to engage.

Picking past the remains of the guards, Ratchet and Ellen soon found themselves looking over the edge of a very long drop to the bottom of a massive three storey high silo built into the mountain, with only a small pool of water in the bottom. "No bloody way. I am _not_ going down there."

The lombax sighed. "Ellen, I know you don't like heights, but we really don't have time for this. It's not like you'll have to jump anyway."

Peeking his head over Ratchet's shoulder, Clank decided to add his own reassurance. "Ratchet is correct. I may have to compensate for the additional mass, but I am certain I will be able to ensure a sufficiently slow descent for both of you."

The lombax gave him a grateful look before turning his attention back to the nervous looking human. "See? Nothing to worry about. You just gotta hold on till we get to the bottom."

Ellen gave a hesitant nod before replying. "Alright..."

She wrapped her legs around his waist, careful to keep them away from Clank's thrusters while her arms tightened around his neck. "Comfy?" He smirked at her, relishing in the close contact for a moment before pushing them off of the precipice. "Here we go"

Compared to the ziplines on Kerwan this was a walk in the park, though Ellen still clung to Ratchet's warm fur like a limpet until they landed in the surprisingly warm chest high water at the bottom. Something that piqued Clank's interest. "Hmm... The water temperature is approximately 17.4 degrees higher than the ambient environment outside. There must be a hot spring close by."

Ratchet carefully detached Ellen before replying to his mechanical companion's musing. "I'm just glad I'm not freezing my tail off. For a minute there, I thought the water was gonna turn me into an ice cube."

Ellen snorted in amusement, tension bleeding off since she was now back on solid ground. Or at least she would be once they swam through the sluice gate in front of them and pulled themselves out of the water on to dry land. The cavern they soon found themselves in was vast; several natural crevices and ledges around the exterior mixing with artificial constructs, sparse plant life, and the large, two storey high hydroponics generator sat in the centre surrounded by a shallow pool of water. "So... how do we get out of here?"

Ratchet shrugged at her question. "I guess we gotta raise the water level high enough that we can swim out up through there."

The human duly noted the well built, utilitarian metal archway parallel to the top of the hydroponics generator near the ceiling of the cavern with a sigh. _'Great. More water to almost drown in again.'_

Oblivious to the human's pessimistic thoughts, Clank pointed out a man-sized storage tank full of water at the base of the hydroponics generator with a familiar looking faucet along side. "Curious. That must be how the silo is filled and drained of water. Although I consider it quite puzzling as to why such an inefficient and time consuming method would be utilised."

It was Ellen's turn to shrug as she approached the device with her Hydrodisplacer in hand. "No idea. But as long as it gets us out of here I honestly don't care." With a gurgling sound, the tank was soon drained, and the bulging Hydrodisplacer was lugged around to the far side of the massive generator where Clank located a drain to deposit the contents in to. The results were instantaneous as warm water rapidly began to fill the room until the caverns only occupants were floating a good fifteen feet off of the bottom of the floor. "Well, that went better than expected. Let's find the rest of those water tanks."

And so it went on; the pair donning their respective breathing apparatus as they scrambled up ledges and dove underwater to reach air pockets where the remaining water storage tanks lay on multiple levels. Honestly, who designed this ridiculously stupid system? Surely a single pump would have been sufficient enough. In any case, after much searching and back tracking, the water level had finally risen enough that the pair could haul their thoroughly drenched forms up on to the top of the generator before jumping across to the adjacent exit.

The temperature plummeted inside the narrow tunnel hollowed from the rock beyond as they followed its twists and turns, but that was nothing compared to the icy winds and falling snow outside. The boxed in canyon was covered by a vast processing plant, with industrial conveyor belts linking the larger free-standing buildings on the left and the squat storage depots built into the rock walls themselves on the right. At the far end of the canyon however was a small, single storey structure with an effigy of a silver robot perched on top, holding a half cog that looked awfully familiar despite the blanket of snow covering it.

Ellen blinked incredulously "Is that a Roboshack? All the way out here?"

Clank hummed in thought. "Well, Bob did say he had 'kin' elsewhere. Although I can not fathom as to why anyone would wish to set up in such a remote location."

Ratchet shook his head. "Well, we're not gonna find out from back here. If it's one of Bob and Al's family, maybe they know a short cut to get to that bomb. C'mon, let's go."

Following the lombax down an incredibly narrow, crumbling path to their left, Ellen eased past the neat stacks of crates piled at the end of the conveyor belts as her boots crunched noisily in the snow. Just as they cleared the first set of conveyors feeding the first depot however, more of those damn bitey prune-things jumped out of the snow; one knocking the human to the ground even as Ratchet laid into the closest threat. One arm desperately sought purchase on the creature's pudgy wrinkled flesh to keep the snapping jaws away from Ellen's face while the other scrabbled for her Quick Select, her Blaster having been lost in the confusion. Suddenly the beast was sent flying off of her and over the guardrail to the canyon below with a wet crunch; golden-furred arms pulling the girl back to her feet before she could even overcome her sudden disorientation.

"You alright?" Ratchet half yelled at her with concerned emerald eyes.

Her response was to stab her Versa Blade up to the hilt in the prune creature sneaking up behind him up, still riding the adrenaline coursed through her veins. "Yeah... thanks..."

The remainder soon fell quickly to their melee weapons; the next group more so when Ratchet pulled out his flamethrower and melted through their hiding spots. A short detour into the tallest building of the production plant yielded two bored guards who had just gotten up to investigate the noise only to be shot down before they could properly respond, along with a multitude of crates sporting military supplies of all kinds. The human and lombax took the opportunity to grab some free ammo before using their Bomb Gloves and some carefully positioned explosive crates to sabotage the remainder and hopefully stall production before getting the hell out of there.

If the similar architecture and neatly printed sign above the door proclaiming 'Ed's Roboshack' weren't big enough hints, then the neater but similarly stocked interior and the pale-furred figure wearing a welding mask and inspecting a robot's head behind the counter were kind of a dead give away that this was yet another relative of Big Al. "Hey buddy, what's shakin'?"

Perking up at Ratchet's voice, the shopkeeper raised the mask to reveal a grinning feminine face with curious green eyes and dirty blond hair pulled back into a pony tail. "Oh mah goodness!" Yep, with an accent like that she's definitely one of the family. Bending over the counter, she picked Clank up and deposited him on top before cooing and fussing over him much to the lombax's chagrin. "Aren't you..." She paused to plant a chaste kiss upon him metal dome "...just a little angel!"

Clank tittered at the not unwelcome attention. "Actually, I am a little robot."

Edwina, as her smudged nametag read, laughed good naturedly at his correction. "You're funny too!"

Under other circumstances, Ratchet might have felt jealous and resentful at the attention of such a good looking girl on Clank rather than himself. His biting remark died on his lips however at the gentle hand on his shoulder and the faint smile Ellen sent his way. Who cares what the blonde thought of the glorified walking backpack when the sole human in the entire galaxy only had eyes for him. Sufficiently calmer, he tuned back into the conversation in time to hear the shop owner clasp her hands together with enthusiasm while spouting her sales pitch.

"Ah think ah got somethin' special for you! How would ya like a Hydro-Pack upgrade?"

Clank raised a metal digit in thought. "That would be quite helpful for swimming underwater."

Ratchet simply rolled his eyes. "Whatever. How much do you need?"

Not much thankfully as it turned out. A few minutes of modifying Clank's internal workings to compensate for the previous alterations and Edwina was placing a newly upgraded robot with twin hydro jets in place of arms back on the counter with a barely contained bounce in her step. "There ya go sweetie! Hee-hee, You look so _handsome!_"

The little silver robot nodded cordially. "Thank you miss. Your craftpersonship is excellent."

Looking him over thoughtfully for a moment, Ellen soon locked eyes with the tomboyish shop keeper. "You wouldn't be able to do something similar for me by any chance?"

Edwina's brow furrowed. "Sorry hun, but you aint a robot. Biology kinda get's in the way?"

The human pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I _meant_ as an upgrade to this Rebreather helmet I got from-"

The device was snatched form her grasp to be scrutinised by the blonde proprietress' keen eye. "This here's mah brother's work. Ya'll met Bob already?"

Ellen smiled weakly at her sudden exuberance. "Um... yeah. He says 'hi' by the way."

Ed grinned widely while slapping an arm onto the human's shoulder. "Well, why dintcha say so? Shoot, any friend of mah kin is a friend of mine. Let's see what we can do here."

The solution was thankfully a hell of a lot simpler than Clank's upgrade. A single fixed turbine with an attached fin were mounted on the back of the Rebreather's filtration unit, and could be folded down at any time to provide greater mobility while on land. Between Ellen's input and Edwina's skill, the two girls finished the device within the space of ten minutes; incredibly fast for building a prototype, but apparently not fast enough for an impatient lombax.

"If you two are through..." he gestured between the females with a hint of exasperation.

A hint of mischief glimmered in Ellen's eye as she leaned over the counter to embrace the store owner. "Aw, what's the matter Ratchet? Worried I might be playing for the other team?"

Both girls laughed at his wide-eyed look of shock as he fumbled for words. Or at least until Ed whispered in Ellen's ear. "Ah like you too, sugar. You can come back and see me any old time!" With a wink and a salacious smile, she released the now flushed human and allowed her to drag the distant lombax and confused robot over to the teleporter pad in the corner of the shop where they disappeared in a burst of white light. Still grinning, Edwina chuckled aloud before setting back to work with a shake of her head. "Get's 'em every time..."

{()}

In a flash the trio were deposited outside the mouth of the cave network with the busy dockyard before them, Ellen staggering slightly from the nausea of being broken down into sub-atomic particles before being reassembled elsewhere. "Ooh, my head..."

Snapping out of his mental funk, Ratchet turned to look at the woozy human. "Ellen... what just happened?"

She flushed brighter still, if it were possible. "Something that will never be spoken of again."

"But it sounded like you were being hit on by a-"

"_Not. Another. Word._"

"...Kay."

With Ellen stalking off ahead, the two remaining companions exchanged glances. "The female of the species is often the most difficult to understand."

Ratchet shook his head in agreement at Clank's analysis. "Yeah, girls are weird sometimes. C'mon, can't let her have all the fun."

A quick look above showed that the massive warship was getting ready to depart judging by the number of fuel lines being steadily retracted back into their moorings. "We're running out of time guys, hurry up!"

With Ratchet close behind, Ellen jumped off of the short pier near the cave entrance lift and on to a barge floating in the middle of the freezing harbour waters before using it as a spring board up to the crane-lined docks on the other side. It was because of this haste and fixation on their objective that she didn't notice an innocuous little black, hexagonal hatch embedded in to one corner of the platform that split open just as she passed by.

"Ellen! Behind you!"

Whirling around with her Blaster rising, she witnessed what looked like a smaller variant of the spiked hover mines Qwark was fond of homing in on her, with more popping up and drifting towards Ratchet. A short burst detonated the mine prematurely with a dull blast, while Ratchet's Pyrocitor swept across the rest in a blazing arc. With no time to lose, human and lombax tore up the distance between the linked dockyard platforms and the service elevator on the far side rapidly. The sound of rotor blades on a cold wind had both stopping short of their goal as a blarg light-attack helicopter came in low around a bend in the canyon beyond to hover menacingly with machine guns trained on the intruders; the pilot's finger twitching on the trig-

BOOM!

Ratchet lowered his smoking Devastator, the burning chopper's remains hissing as they came into contact with the icy waters below. Catching a glimpse of Ellen's raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "What?"

She shook her head with a snort of amusement. "Never mind."

The lift dropped them on a short conveyor belt; a heavily armed welcoming party blocking the path leading through the snow between an observation tower and another storage shed. "Don't stop, just blow through 'em!"

Ellen didn't bother to answer her partner, busy as she was tossing bombs into the tightly packed squad of blarg soldiers; bodies flailing like ragdolls even as Ratchet used his flamethrower to set everything and everyone else on fire. Another attack helicopter circled above and added its weight of fire to the skirmish below, one of the lombax's rocket's going wide as it easily strafed to one side before hosing his position. Seeing an opportunity, Ellen aimed her machine pistol at the helo's tail rotor and kept the trigger held down as dozens of rounds sparked off of the metal. Realising what was going on, the pilot swerved away from the line of fire only for a lucky deflection to sever the blade cleanly; sending the chopper into a flat spin that tore it apart on the canyon walls before the fuel tanks detonated in a shower of shrapnel.

Running through an observation deck, Ratchet used his powerful leg muscles to vault between the walls of a broken down elevator shaft up to a cavernous tunnel above, while Ellen simply used her Grapple Gun to follow shortly thereafter in his wake. Emerging from the other side, the duo soon found themselves on a precarious conveyor belt a good sixty feet up with another mine trap waiting at the end. With weapons ready, lombax and human waited until they were close enough to trigger the passive defence system before shredding the spiked projectiles in a hail of gunfire and flames. Scrambling up the wall the explosive launching device was guarding once it was destroyed, Ratchet and Ellen moved through a tunnel carved through the mountain top choked with more of the annoying prune-like creatures before emerging onto a cliff side plateau with a spectacular view of the permanently winterised valley below.

It also, however, gave a good sense of scale for the looming warship that dwarfed everything else in sight. "Look at the size of that thing! How are we supposed to take down a ship that big?"

Ratchet didn't answer the red-headed girl's question immediately; his sharp senses on edge as he took in the environment. "I don't know... But I think I found us a way across."

Considering her fear of heights, Ellen was unsurprisingly none too keen on the lombax's plan to use the hovering barges between them and the repurposed factory with adjoined facilities on the other side of the valley. Nevertheless, the Planet Buster couldn't be allowed to leave no matter what; and so she stood on the precipice, psyching herself up, while trying to avoid thinking about the slim chances of surviving a fall to the valley floor a good eighty feet below. Waiting for a helicopter patrol to pass by, both lombax and human took a flying leap out into the abyss; legs unsteadily finding purchase on the first barge before stumbling forth to jump to the next while they still had momentum.

It was in this fashion that found them several terrifying leaps later perched upon a concrete loading ramp jutting from the ice shelf supporting the massive factory complex. Eyes wide, Ellen shuddered in fear; hands clenching in the snow to one side as her racing heart threatened to leap out of her mouth. "Never... again... Ratchet. I am _never_ doing something that stupid again."

The nonplussed lombax shrugged before helping her stagger to her feet. "I know it probably wasn't the smartest idea with the whole 'fear of heights' thing, but we're almost outta time."

Clank piped up from his position on Ratchet's back. "Indeed, the ship appears to be preparing for departure. We should cut through the factory if we are to make it on time."

Ellen took a deep breath before exhaling. "Okay... you're both right. But you owe me for this, fuzz ball."

Before either could take more than a few steps towards the enormous structure however, a pair of snow plumes on their immediate right announced the presence of two blarg soldiers rising from their camouflaged positions in the snow. Instinct ingrained by the numerous lightning-paced battles she had previously fought up to this point brought Ellen's machine pistol up and firing at the one preparing a grenade before her brain could engage, dropping him even as Ratchet smacked aside the other's rifle and introduced his wrench to the blarg's face. With both enemies down, the lombax and human followed the steel-lined access road to the industrial plant's slightly parted main doors before stacking up on either side; Ellen dropping into a crouch before catching Ratchet's eye.

"Hold on a sec, I want to take a look."

...

"Is it clear?"

Ellen slowly shook her head. "...Nope."

Ratchet frowned. "Well, how many are there?"

The human grimaced. "...Lots."

Feeling curious, the lombax peaked around the ajar doors for a few seconds before ducking back. The interior definitely looked like where the Planet Buster was manufactured judging by the mass of machinery occupying the four walls and a good portion of the factory floor. Ratchet's main concern however was on the two-dozen heavily armed blarg troopers congregated in the centre, waiting to strike at a moments notice. "Oh."

Ellen snorted in derision. "Yeah, 'oh'. Guess we should have gone the long way after all."

Clank shook his head. "We are almost out of time. A direct assault would be the most expedient option if are to reach the ship before it leaves."

Ratchet equipped his Bomb Glove with a small smirk gracing his features. "Heh, didn't like the idea of sneaking around anyway. You ready for this?"

With a flick of her wrist, Ellen pulled the Glove of Doom from her Quick Select before rolling a pair of its silver canister orbs through the doors and waited for the fireworks to begin. Confused shouts, gunfire, and mechanical cackling punctuated by the odd explosion gave the human and lombax chance to slip inside the factory unnoticed and strike while the enemy was otherwise distracted. An unoccupied trooper sent a barrage of fire at the still running human followed by a second as she dropped into cover behind a shut down conveyor belt, poking her machine pistol over the top and spraying in their general direction. Ratchet on the other hand opted to stay mobile, using his natural agility in conjunction with Clank's thrusters to dash between clusters of blarg and either drop bombs in their midst or pick off the occasional stray with a flurry of Omni-Wrench strikes before quickly moving on to the next target.

Ellen had resorted to pinning down her attackers with Blaster fire so that she could bracket them with bombs or otherwise flush them from cover so in order to pick them off. The trouble was that she was starting to run low on ammo; and although the opposing force was down to less than quarter strength now, the soldiers that remained had caught on to the redhead's tactics and even now were slowly pushing her back in to a corner. Tossing back a grenade that fell between her feet, Ellen whipped her gaze up just in time to avoid a rifle butt to the face. Scrabbling backwards on the floor, she kicked aside the barrel of the blarg's rifle as it barked out a shot before driving her Versa Blade into his thigh; the trooper involuntarily leaning back as he yelled in pain only for a silver blur to smack into his head and drop him like a puppet with no strings.

Ellen turned her attention to the approaching lombax as he caught the flying wrench on its return, her eyes betraying her relief. "Thanks, but I think I could have taken him."

He gave a half shrug as she fell in behind him, both making best speed through the maze of dead machinery. "I know, but you were taking too long. I Got bored of waiting."

"You're insufferable, you know that?"

"If by that you mean I'm awesome, then yeah, I do."

Resisting the urge to punch the lombax on the shoulder, Ellen exited the factory's rear entrance next to Ratchet onto a railed observation deck big enough to land their ship on. Speaking of which...

"We are too late! The ship is leaving!" Clank pointed at the warship as it drifted away from its moorings before massive engines slowly powered it forward and away from the facilities. Their weapons wouldn't even scratch the paint on that thing, that much was obvious to all present.

Ratchet's eyes darted around in search of a solution until they locked onto an abandoned defence turret in the centre of a raised platform jutting from the cliff ahead; his legs in motion even as he yelled out his response over the whipping wind. "Not if we can help it! C'mon, help me get this thing running!" The bomb carrier had just cleared the edge of the valley and was turning to orient itself on an escape vector by the time they reached the turret, the lombax climbing into the seat and turning the powered up twin-linked cannons on the ship's engines. "Let's see if we can slow this guy down."

A rhythmic thumping split the air as a steady stream of explosive shells slammed into the rear of the slowly moving vessel, a few lucky shots penetrating the slightly thinner hull plating around the engine housing and wrecking havoc inside. All three companions cheered as the warship ground to a halt with a wisp of black smoke trailing from one of the engines; their celebration cut short as multitudes of rocket-spewing turrets turned to face them.

"Oh crap. Take cover!" The hailstorm of an explosive-tipped broadside filled the air between them, Ratchet managing to shoot down the ones on a direct collision course with their position while Ellen hunkered down with Clank. The remaining rockets blew by to detonate spectacularly against the side of the factory, reducing much of it to twisted metal and rubble.

In the lull of the great vessel reloading its bristling armaments, the sound of rotor blades followed by an attack helicopter rising up from below the lip of the platform announced that reinforcements had finally arrived. Two shots was all it took from the gun turret to swat the chopper from the skies, but with more inbound and the ship likely to be conducting emergency repairs, Ratchet made an impulsive decision. "Ellen, take over the gun and concentrate on those turrets! I'll keep 'em off your back!"

So saying, he leapt off of the heavy weapon platform while Ellen slid into his place; a Devastator rocket sending an attacking helo down before the lombax even touched the ground. The controls were virtually identical to the last turret Ellen had operated, a fact she was thankful of as she swivelled to face the ship and began to systematically pound its defences into scrap metal. For whatever reason, the warship hadn't attempted another mass barrage of fire; instead relying on a constant stream of sporadically fired rockets that served mainly as a temporary distraction until they were destroyed, allowing Ellen to concentrate back on task of stripping away the vessel's ability to fight back.

With the two turrets perched atop the rear of the ship disabled, Ellen continued to pour fire into the damaged engines to permanently cripple them while Ratchet played missile quartet with the choppers buzzing their platform. The lombax rolled to one side to avoid a strafing run before bringing down the offending helicopter with a single rocket to the rear. Two more hovered in place, their guns chewing up the metal platform in their effort to track him while he flipped and dodged with typically feline grace. Unfortunately, this prevented him from doing anything about the second pair attacking Ellen's turret; or at least until he could get rid of his pursuers. Feinting in one direction, Ratchet then backflipped over the stream of bullets on his tail and let loose with his Devastator at the surprised pilot of the closest helo; tumbling without pause into a roll that had him facing the opposite direction and bringing his launcher to bear on the second before pulling the trigger.

With both attack helicopters sent burning to the bottom of the valley, Ratchet concentrated on keeping the remainder off of his human partner as her efforts caused the warship's sputtering engines to detonate and take half the ship with it. The drifting hulk may no longer be able to escape Hoven's atmosphere, but with the planet-busting bomb slung underneath it was still a threat that couldn't be taken lightly. Without letting off the trigger, Ellen walked the cannon fire on to the bulbous bridge at the front of the vessel; now largely defenceless considering most of its turrets were slagged and burning wreckage. The odd attack helicopter blocking her view was a minor nuisance that was easily cut down as the front portion of the ship buckled and ruptured under the constant pounding until it was practically unrecognisable.

"Be careful Ellen. One misplaced shot could detonate the bomb prematurely."

The redhead took Clank's advice to heart as she targeted the miraculously still airborne mid-section of the wrecked warship; the heavy weapon platform's twin-linked guns glowing cherry red from the sheer number of rounds being fired through both barrels. With so little left holding it together, it was small wonder when the tortured metal gave one last creaking groan and the Planet Buster Maximus snapped loose from its cradle to plunge into the freezing waters below while dragging the remains of the ship with it. All present held a collective breath before breathing a sigh of relief as the weapon of mass destruction failed to go off; Ellen wiping the sweat from her brow once she had dismounted from the anti-aircraft gun and dropped back down on to the platform.

"Well, that was a close one."

Ratchet leaned against the side of the rapidly cooling guns with a relieved grin. "You're telling me, I thought- Huh?"

From behind the turret, an infobot poked out it's head before slowly coming forth and displaying it's recorded message.

"Men, you are about to embark on a very _dangerous_ mission," Drek, once again on the bridge of his flagship, addressed the camera directly. As he continued to speak, the image on screen changed to show a predominantly silver space station made up of multiple platforms and geometric structures floating in an asteroid belt against the backdrop of a glowing orange gas giant. "We will be launching a heavily-armed surprise attack from our new moon base against a completely unarmed planet." The camera refocused on the contemplative looking blarg leader as he cupped his chin. "Actually, that doesn't sound _too_ dangerous..."

With an abrupt cough, he shook his head before continuing on. "Nevertheless. Your orders are simple." The view changed again to show a series of still images depicting a bleak looking city with tall, mostly charcoal-coloured buildings set against grey skies "Destroy anything that moves. Steal the power generators from Gorda City. Then, destroy anything that... _doesn't_ move!" Once again Drek's visage filled the screen as he chuckled. "Oh, and don't forget; have fun!"

"We must get to the moon base and stop Drek."

Ratchet bristled as Clank secured the infobot in his internal storage. "No, we have to get to the moon base to find Qwark! If Drek is there, Qwark is probably with him!"

The minute machine gestured wildly in exasperation. "But Drek is going to destroy that city! We must get to the base!"

The lombax pointed a thumb at himself. "That's what I said!"

Clank mirrored his action. "No, that is what I said!"

Ratchet narrowed his eyes at the small robot. "Fine!"

Green optics glared back at him in return. "Fine!"

Ellen rubbed her eyes. "Oh for the love of... Would you two just agree to disagree before I smack some sense into you both. It doesn't matter if we run into Drek or Qwark first, but if we're going to find either we have to get to that moon base as soon as possible. Agreed?" With two reluctant nods, she clapped her hands together. "Right, now how do we get back down?"

To give the lombax credit, Ratchet's idea was the fastest way to get back to the ship, but for Ellen it left a lot to be desired. "I swear to God, if I weren't so terrified of falling to my death I'd punch you so hard right now fuzz ball."

Ratchet simply concentrated on not losing any feelings in his arms since the human girl held him tight enough to cut off the blood supply as they slowly descended. In retrospect, jumping off of a platform high above a canyon with someone who is terrified of heights and only the thrusters on a robot backpack to slow them down probably wasn't the best of ideas. But at least it saved them from having to back track all the way through the docks again, and a little pain was worth it to have Ellen pressed up against him, even if it wasn't exactly an intimate gesture at the moment.

After getting an earful from the strong-minded human girl upon landing, Ratchet joined her and Clank in the cockpit of the tour shuttle; all of them ready to get the hell off of the freezing planet before the blarg could muster a response at the loss of their no doubt expensive weapon. The lombax pilot entered the coordinates to their next destination and promptly took off, soon leaving the wind and snowy atmosphere for the depths of space once again. As the stars drifted by however, Ratchet couldn't help the niggling feeling at the back of his mind that Qwark was close somehow; and if that was the case, then once he had the traitor in his sights no force in the galaxy would stop him from claiming his vengeance.

_'You'd better be ready Qwark, 'cos wherever you are, we're coming for you.'_

* * *

**I did think about leaving out Edwina and the Hydro-Pack, since it won****'****t have much bearing on the rest of the story. But then I realised that there probably wouldn****'****t be a proper way to introduce such a core piece of gadgetry into the sequel in a believable sense, that and I like the rest of Al****'****s siblings. Shame they aren****'****t in any of the sequels, it would have been interesting seeing them working together.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	18. Chapter 18: Gravity & Grudges

**Author****'****s note:**

**I must admit to spending a disproportionate amount of time staring at a blank screen and willing words to appear while writing this chapter, especially when trying to frame the confrontation at the end. I just couldn****'****t seem to get things started, but once the ball stated rolling I just couldn****'****t stop writing. As a result this is probably the longest one yet, not counting author notes, though I****'****m still a bit iffy on the way it turned out. Let me know what you think.**

**Review replies:**

**ReginaDC21 - Damn, you have my sympathies. Of all the injuries to have a broken arm is in a way one of the worst, especially when it****'****s your dominant one, since we rely on the flexibility of our hands to do pretty much everything.**

**It does seem strange that Insomniac would drop the rest of Al****'****s family after the first game with out any further mention later in the series. I did consider trying to find some way to fit one or both in to either sequel story some how, but I****'****ll have to work it out first. I****'****m looking forward to seeing the sparks fly between Ellen and Nefarious myself, shame it****'****ll be a while yet. Hope you recover soon, take care.**

**Sonachugirl - That whole little scene was kind of spontaneous, it literally just appeared to me out of the blue; glad you liked it. I cut the whole section leading to the raritanium since I didn****'****t bother with writing out Fred****'****s side quest on Pokitaru, so it wouldn****'****t have made much sense to keep it in. Shame to a degree, since I both love and loathe the segment equally for it****'****s trickiness. Qwark + arse kicking = go this chapter, the wait is almost over. Yep, I said sequel. One way or another, I intend to finish the original trilogy at least with possibly more for the future.**

**destiny - Thanks again, hope this one lives up to your expectations as well.**

**Remy - Heh, ****'****cool****'****. As in all the ice? (Crickets chirp) No? Anyway, hope you like this one too.**

**dablackwyrm - Well first of all, let me wish you a happy birthday! Even if I****'****m roughly a week too late. I did wonder if I****'****d made Ellen a little too idealistic, but since I haven****'****t had any complaints so far I kept her as is. Seems to be working out so far. When creating original dialogue for Ratchet, Clank, and any other non OC character, I tend to picture them saying the words in my mind with the same accent and manner of speech as their in game counterpart; tailoring the words to suit their personality until I feel I****'****m doing the character justice.**

**This is actually my first crack at romance believe it or not, the Orxon scene had been churning in my mind since I first conceived this story and the rest kind of grew from there. I hated the whinny ****'****emo****'**** phase Ratchet went through for a good third of the game, and wondered what would happen if he channelled those emotions in to his feelings for another rather than self loathing. Ellen will definitely be stronger with commando training, but with the experience gained between the events of the second and third games she****'****ll truly be a force to be reckoned with once Nefarious shows up. Thank you once again, hope you enjoy the rest of the story.**

**No new favourites or follows this week sadly, but at least I****'****ve got the rest of you to keep me going. Thank you for your continued support.**

**The only way I****'****ll get better at writing is through feedback, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**It****'****s almost time for the showdown. Chapter 18 is a go.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 18: **

**Gravity &amp; Grudges**

* * *

**Gemlik Moon Base, Oltanis Orbit**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**4:37pm local time**

Curiously enough, Gemlik moon base wasn't actually on a moon, or even near it for that matter. Instead, the ominous artificial construct floated on a sea of stars within the gravitational pull of the nearby planet Oltanis; the nearby asteroid belt sharing its orbit partially shielding the sprawling facility from attack. As the tour shuttle reached the outer marker of the base's sensor coverage, Ratchet cut the engines and allowed the ship to run silent; only using brief bursts of docking thrusters to minutely correct their course as they drifted towards their objective. The vessel cleared the edge of an asteroid, and as the base came in to view the occupants got a better look at the multiple levels of vast towers and fenced in exposed areas made of dense alloys and heavily reinforced glass that formed the staging post.

Still undetected by the base's defence network, Ratchet use every ounce of his piloting skill to manoeuvre the unpowered vessel on to a landing pad set on a high tower directly in front of them that was barely large enough to accommodate the ship; although it did offer an excellent view of the rest of the base. Despite the slightly heavy landing, Ellen was already securing her Rebreather helmet in place and checking the vacuum seal around her neck was airtight while the lombax sat beside her did the same with his O2 mask. Seeing as they were in the airless void of space, neither wanted to take any chances popping the canopy until they were dead certain that their equipment was functioning properly.

The only bit of good news was that the ship's sensors detected a projected field of artificial gravity emanating approximately twelve feet off the surface of the construct, as well as UV shielding and a weak atmosphere. Not only would this allow them to walk around normally without having to worry about floating away helplessly, but also meant that they didn't require proper spacesuits in order to survive the harsh conditions.

Sucking in a breath out of habit, Ellen bit her lip as Ratchet opened the locking mechanism on the canopy and hopped over the side, with the redhead following suit alongside Clank shortly thereafter. Everything felt weird; her boots impacting the metal grating running alongside the landing pad far too lightly, and the tingling sensation on her skin along with the lack of background noise was just plain creepy. Ordinarily sound can't travel in space due to the lack of vibrating molecules, but thanks to the artificial atmosphere she could clearly hear her companions talking as they stood at the edge of the platform looking out over base.

"I did not see Drek's ship. We must have missed him," Clank worried.

"Aargh! Who knows where Qwark is now! If we're gonna catch those two, we need a faster ship!" The lombax's frustration was evident, even distorted as it was through his helmet's external speakers.

"Maybe we could steal one," Ellen suggested; her voice slightly muffled and echoing in her helmet, but was otherwise clear. "After all, a space station this big is bound to have a few lying around somewhere."

Ratchet shrugged. "Well, we're here. Let's go check it out."

Once everyone's ammo was topped up at the conveniently situated Gadgetron vendor, they stood on the precipice of the tower looking down at the yawning gap between where they stood and the platform a good thirty feet below and twenty feet away. Ellen's stomach clenched, her breathing shallow and eyes wide as she stood rooted to the spot in terror. This was far worse than previous jumps; the very real fear of tumbling through space for all eternity consuming her mind even as a gloved hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Ellen, look at me." She shakily turned her head to see Ratchet stood comfortingly beside her, his focused eyes a sea of green through the visor of the vibrant red O2 mask he wore. "I need you to calm down and listen. I know you're scared, but we need to do this if we're gonna find a ship. Just take my hand and I'll get us there down there nice and easy, I promise." The human drew a shuddering breath before nodding slowly in agreement, not trusting her voice right now as the lombax counted out loud. "Alright, on three. One... two... three!"

They shoved off together, Ellen's hand squeezing the lombax's painfully tight as they briefly floated through the void between worlds before the pull of the station's artificial gravity gradually drew them back down to solid ground. It was simultaneously the most wonderful and terrifying experience of her life; the rush of danger combined with the feeling of almost being able to touch the very stars themselves was euphoric for but a few precious moments until their boots clanged noisily on the metal-plated platform they had been aiming for.

Ratchet was worried by the slightly distant look in her eyes once they had landed, shaking her shoulder to snap her out of it. "Ellen, you okay?"

She smiled fondly. "Yeah... It's just... We've been travelling through space for the past few days, and it's only now that I appreciate just how amazing it really is."

Clank hummed in thought. "A Revelation of sorts, perhaps?"

Ellen turned to face him. "Kind of. I'm still shit scared of heights, but if it meant I could experience that again... I'd jump in a heartbeat."

A flicker of movement caught Ratchet's eye, his hand darting down to his Quick Select even as he spoke. "That's great and all, but maybe we can save the rest until after we've dealt with these guys."

Focusing on the here and now, Ellen went for her Blaster as a flock of six man-sized, orange-painted drones with cyan visors that looked like more advanced versions of the ones they had first encountered on Novalis dropped on to their platform and charged. It was good job the station exterior had a thin atmosphere, otherwise Ratchet's Pyrocitor would have had no oxygen to fuel the swathes of flame he spread in his wake. With Ellen picking off the odd stray, the platform was soon clear and the pair made their way up a small stairway to a grated metal gantry, only to fall foul of an active security fence.

The lombax threw his hands up. "Great. How are we gonna get by this?"

Clank pointed at a thick off-red cable running parallel to the wall on their left before snaking off below their elevated position and into what looked a lot like a lighthouse standing just alongside the gantry, were it not for the glowing green core in the clear upper portion. "That cable appears to supply energy to the force field from the power conduit contained within that tower. If we were to disable it somehow, we should be able to pass by unharmed."

"On it."

Ratchet had levelled his Devastator at the tower and pulled the trigger before anyone could get a word in edgeways. The transparent dome cracked and the emerald orb within briefly changed to a sickly shade before imploding, causing the entire structure to collapse and the fence to flicker and die as the power drained fully as the lombax stowed the launcher once more with a chuckled. "And the door is open. Ladies first."

Ellen shook her head. "So much for being subtle. If they didn't know we were here before, they do now."

The golden-furred feline waved dismissively as they made way past the deactivated fence in to the L-shaped area beyond. "Ah, stealth's overrated. I'd prefer a stand up fight any day."

A pair of the avian-like drones were torn apart by wrench and Versa Blade as they charged around a corner, only for more to drop in to join the fight alongside a single hazmat trooper, who was content to hang back and guard the barrier blocking the way forward to the next area. Ellen kept the mechanised security off of the lombax's back with precise burst of her machine pistol as he weaved between them, nimbly hopping over the wall of flames the blarg soldier sent his way before leaping up and bring his wrench down over his head to permanently silence his opponent. Leaving the trail of carnage in their wake, the human equipped her Visibomb Gun and used it to guide a missile over the reinforced perimeter fence and destroy the conduit tower just beyond before switching weapons once again as she ran to catch up with the fleet-footed lombax already at the disabled security gate.

Passing through, she almost overbalanced as Ratchet grabbed her arm and pulled her to their right. "Move!"

A split second later, a machine gun mounted inside a bunker fronted by a translucent armoured glass dome opened up with a hail of fire that followed them as they ducked behind a vacant landing pad. Chancing a look over the top of their cover, Ratchet noted that the blarg manning the weapon only had a 90 degree arc of fire, passing the information on to his partner before vaulting over the top of the landing pad to flank the machine gun nest and its frustrated gunner. Dropping down near the exposed rear of the bunker, the human and lombax saw the lightly armoured blarg soldier go for his sidearm a fraction too late as their pair of thrown bombs blew him and the mounted weapon away with ease.

A heavy duty blast door blocked their way further into the base, the three gravitating towards the Invinco-Lock interface set upon the wall nearby even as Ratchet spoke. "Alright Clank, time to put those nerd powers of yours to good use."

The sentient machine's optics flickered for a moment before he beckoned Ellen closer. "Might I see your Wrist Com for a moment?" She held it out to him, his antennae briefly thrumming before he gave a nod. "Excellent, the new hacking module has been successfully integrated into your device. Simply make contact with the Invinco-Lock and establish a connection; once initiated, the programme will do the rest."

Shrugging, Ellen did as instructed. With the hacking application open and her Wrist Com held next to the lock, it took less than half a minute of boops and beeps for the deadbolts to release and the doors to grind open. "Guess we won't be needing my Netbook anymore then?"

Clank nodded. "Indeed. However, the programme requires the user to maintain close contact with the lock throughout the hacking attempt without deviation; leaving you vulnerable to attack."

Ratchet smirked at the redhead. "Guess that means I'll have to watch your tail whenever you do that from now on, huh?"

Ellen rolled her eyes. "As if I need to give you another excuse to stare at my arse. Now, come on."

He followed just behind her with a snicker as they walked through the gap in the thick-plated bulkhead, eyes definitely focused on the environment and not on the shapely posterior in front of him. Clank merely frowned at the absurdity of organics. Why the abject fascination with a piece of the anatomy whose sole purpose revolves around sitting and disposing of waste products?

Taking the few steps down into the sunken passage in front, Ratchet and Ellen immediately dove for a set of stairs on their right leading to an observation deck as another blarg stared them down from behind the barrel of his mounted weapon before letting rip. Bullets sang past them with inches to spare as they climbed, only ceasing when the duo reached the top of the platform since the heavy weapon was unable to tilt up at a steep enough angle to aim properly. A trio of bird drones waded forth to greet them, only to smashed apart via wrench or perforated by Blaster fire in short order before they descended the stairs on the opposite side of the platform and once again took the bunker from behind with little fanfare.

A second secured bulkhead blocked their path; the larger size and more intricate lock indicating that they must be getting close to something important. Nevertheless, the door was bypassed within a minute, Ellen closing the hacking programme on her Wrist Com as they stepped through the gap beyond and hopped up a steep ledge into yet another pre-prepared kill zone. "Go! Get in the trench!"

Both lombax and human barely missed a tirade of machine gun fire attempting to scythe them down as they dropped down into an open air maintenance passage a dozen feet to their left, landing awkwardly amongst a stack of spare parts and haphazardly stacked crates. A wall of flames ripping through the surrounding debris shattered their brief respite, the pair of hazmat troopers occupying the other end of the trench being the obvious cause as they alternated fire on the beleaguered duo. Quite literally leaping into action, Ellen tossed a bomb that caught one blarg unaware; nimbly dodging the incoming attacks as Ratchet took advantage of the brief distraction to smack the other one with his wrench.

Climbing out the other side and dealing with the machine gunner up top, the duo moved past the ruined bunker and down a narrow passageway between structures that led to an open area dotted with transparent metal crates containing an ominous looking solid green substance just in front of a large hanger that was protected by a high-powered force field. A gaggle of the avian inspired orange drones loped forth to intercept them; a thrown wrench from Ratchet knocking one back into an explosive crate which in caused a chain reaction in the mystery containers, detonating in a blossoming cloud of acidic green mist. Ellen dropped two that had escaped the blast radius with quick bursts while the lombax cleared out the few remaining survivors before they congregated in front of the concave hanger; idly noting the more advanced spacefaring version of the jet fighter they had piloted on Pokitaru hovering inside with its weapons already pointed their way.

"I got the tower, see if you take out the fighter."

Nodding in agreement, Ellen raised her Visibomb Gun alongside Ratchet's Devastator; both firing at their respective targets within a second of each other, resulting in a destroyed conduit and a mangled orange-painted ship plastering the deck. Passing through quickly, they stepped in front of the hanger doors on the far side only to freeze as they parted to reveal a pair of the advanced VTOL fighters lying in wait above a cluster of the volatile containers of green goo. Diving to opposite sides, Ratchet and Ellen barely avoided the hailstorm of rockets sent their way as they pressed up against the thick hanger walls flanking the exit.

With the blarg air units seemingly content with hanging back and saturating them with long ranged fire, the duo needed a way out and fast. Taking advantage of a brief lull in the rocket fire, Ellen jammed her machine pistol around the corner in the general direction of the carelessly stacked toxic crates and held down the trigger. Fate seemed to smile upon the besieged pair as several bullets sparked and ignited one of the containers, setting off those nearby and generating a large enough explosion to throw one of the waiting warbirds off course. Keeping the door frame between him and the other space craft, Ratchet pumped a pair of rockets into the exposed underbelly of the destabilised blarg fighter and blew it to pieces. With the second VTOL swing round to focus on the lombax's position, the pilot never noticed the TV guided missile curving around the hanger doors to impact centre mass courtesy of Ellen's own heavy weapon.

Picking their way through the maelstrom of burning debris, half buried crates, and hazardous fuel containers, the human and lombax took out a solitary hazmat trooper guarding a freight elevator before taking it down into the station interior below. The heavy doors rolled open to reveal an arched chamber with turbines set into the walls on either side over a trench filled with a corrosive green liquid that fell and rose rhythmically. A running jump assisted by Thrust Pack and Grapple Gun respectively dropped them on the far side amongst a quartet of bird bots that frankly presented little challenge to the seasoned pair as the machines waddled forth to be taken apart at melee weapon range.

Hanging a right brought them through a large metal pipe big enough to park a ship inside and into a large rectangular vat of the acidic substance, which drained to reveal a series of short grated platforms that were soon swallowed up bar one set in the middle when the room flooded once more. Watching the cycle a few times to discern its pattern, Ratchet and Ellen bolted forth as the tide dropped once more; leaping from one stepping stone to the next as they raced to clear the room before the toxic liquid could melt them to the bone. They barely made it off the final platform as it was swallowed up once again a heartbeat after they had jumped on to a secluded raised area overlooking a vast corridor, characterised by the deep trench of fluctuating green waste below and the almost cathedral-like arches every ten feet or so between the two sets of Versa-Targets suspended in mid air.

"Looks like they were expecting us."

Ellen looked towards the three hazmat troopers camped out on the far side of the access corridor with weapons ready before shooting the lombax a disbelieving look. "_Really now?_ Do you think that was before or _after_ we started blowing up everything in sight?"

Ratchet shrugged, an indifferent smirk upon his face. "Guess we'll never know. You mind clearing the way babe?"

She hefted her Visibomb Gun in response. "Gladly, fuzz ball."

As the lombax used his Swingshot to cross the gap, a single missile streaked forth across the artificial chasm to slam into the ground between the two furthest blarg; sending them flying just as Ratchet used his forward momentum to propel himself through the air and slam his wrench down on to the survivor with an overhead strike. Once Ellen had caught up with her Grapple Gun, she resigned herself to clinging to her partner once again as he donned his Magna Boots and awkwardly waddled forth down a ventilation duct protruding from the wall further down in to the next chamber; this one filled with a bronzed liquid metal that, like previous rooms, continued to rise and fall at set intervals.

"Is that molten steel?" Ellen questioned while gripping onto the lombax tighter still since they were now traversing horizontally along the wall and dangerously close the water line.

"I find that unlikely," Clank answered. "From what we have seen so far, the station appears to be oriented towards supply rather than production."

Ratchet sucked in a breath as he negotiated a particularly hairy section inches from the potentially hazardous liquid bubbling up from below, deciding to cut the robot off before he could go on a tangent. "Dunno, don't care. Just _really_ want to get of this place right now, and you're not helping."

Finally making it up the far side with a collective sigh of relief, he deposited Ellen on to the thankfully no longer vertical ground only for both to be bowled over by one of the volatile translucent fuel cells carelessly scattered along the passageway they were occupying suddenly detonating. Scrambling to their feet, the cause soon became evident as another hazmat trooper charged forth from the walkway beyond with his weapon already spewing forth another wall of flame.

Dodging to one side, Ratchet managed to return the favour by engulfing another fuel cell with his Pyrocitor just as the blarg passed by; sending the body tumbling over the edge and into the depths below. Said depths contained the biggest acid bath yet inside an arched chamber about a quarter the size of a football pitch, with rows of massive pumps churning behind reinforced glass flanking both sides of the room; perhaps the reason for the constant rise and fall of the corrosive liquid lakes in the station's interior.

"As if heights weren't bad enough," Ellen murmured while Ratchet eyed the untouched, neatly piled fuel cells on a cargo lift jammed halfway down the basin; noting that they seemed to be resistant to the acid when submerged, and more importantly offered a decent landing platform for what he had in mind.

"Babe, I think me and Clank can boost across, but I don't think we'd make it with you as well..."

She bit her lip while glancing around for an alternative, until her eyes fell on the particularly sturdy metal arches supporting the ceiling. "You go ahead, I think I just found my own way."

Pausing to give her one last look of concern, Ratchet waited for the tide of toxic green to start receding before leaping forth as far as he could; letting Clank's thrusters carry him down to fall just short of the stuck cargo platform. Grasping on to the edge of a stacked fuel cell, he managed to pull himself up on to the safety of the decking above and turned to see how his partner was faring. Having used her Grapple Gun to secure an anchor in one of the arches midway up the chamber, Ellen sucked in a breath to psyche herself up before throwing herself over the edge; the line snapping taut before she could even cry out in fear at the rapid descent towards the acid bath below and carrying her in an arcing pendulum motion across the chamber.

Her boots almost skimmed the surface at the apex of the swing; noxious fumes filtering into her helmet through proximity despite the air scrubbers working overtime. With the push of a button, the Grapple Gun's line decoupled and wound in rapidly as momentum carried her forward; leaving the human flying through the air with flailing arms towards the safety of the platform in front and grunting in pain as she landed in a heap, limbs entangled with the lombax who had tried to catch her.

Ratchet rolled on to his side with a moan before trying to stagger upright. "We gotta stop meeting like this."

Shaking the cobwebs out of her head, Ellen took his outstretched hand and leaned on him for support until she could get her bearings once more. "Well... I think I can cross that off my list of things never to do again."

Hitting the button on the elevator once they were inside, the lombax snorted in amusement. "I dunno, I thought you were doing pretty awesome up until the point you hit me. And hey, that's one way of tryin' to get over your fear of heights, right?"

She didn't deign him an answer, since the lift doors opened on to the station exterior again and a pair of bird drones lunging forwards. With the machines scrapped, the duo stood at the foot of a staircase leading up to a large dome-like structure protected by a force field gate. "I've got this one."

Ratchet shrugged before letting the human take over since he couldn't even see a conduit tower to shoot, let alone destroy it. A TV guided missile leapt from Ellen's Visibomb Gun, streaking up at an oblique angle to power over the electrified barrier and slamming into the power source behind it with practiced ease. Problem was, hiding behind the now collapsed tower was another one of those VTOL fighters poised to strike. A volley of machine gun fire forced their heads down at the top of the stairs, keeping the pair suppressed and preventing them from advancing into the building's interior.

"Now what? I can't even get my launcher up to fire!" Ellen had to yell in order to be heard over the din.

"let me try mine, just keep 'em off me for a few seconds!"

She threw her hands up at the lombax's suggestion. "With what? Harsh language?"

He didn't answer, busy as he was crawling into position under the lip of the top step of the stairwell. Growling to herself about how the stupid space cat was liable to get them killed, Ellen equipped her Bomb Glove and tossed explosives randomly over her cover. One must have hit something important, because the metal structure vibrated as a reverberating explosion rocked it; a green mist temporarily blocking the line of sight between the two sides. Taking full advantage, Ratchet sprung up from his hiding spot and let loose with a salvo of rockets in the general direction of the hovering orange-painted space fighter; the sound of rent metal followed by a dull explosion shortly thereafter signalling success.

The hanger doors opened automatically as they approached the far end, revealing a trio of the avian inspired berserker drones dropping down to attack. It was a notion soon put to rest by a few targeted bursts from Ellen's machine pistol at the fuel cells lying around on the grated decking outside, resulting in a detonation of machine parts and acidic mist decorating the immediate area. Dropping down on to the platform running parallel slightly below, both human and lombax sprinted for safety as a trio of machine gun nests built into an elongated, low-lying blockhouse opened up on them simultaneously. It was pretty obvious they wouldn't be able to get by the narrow strip of platform running along the outskirts of the strongpoint without getting turned into Swiss cheese, and so the pair would have to resort to other means in order to clear a path.

Ratchet watched Ellen's back closely as she attempted to crack the Invinco-Lock on the elongated bunker's armoured door with Clank's assistance. Once the panel lit up green and the door ground open, the lombax sallied forth with his flamethrower blazing; igniting the stack of fuel cells near to the first machine gun nest and taking out the blarg operator in the blast. The other two were quickly dealt with in a similarly violent fashion before the team doubled back out of the blockhouse, following the lit path past the now silent guns and around the corner to their next inevitable engagement.

Two hazmat troopers and a half-dozen bird bots occupied what might have been a landing area for defence fighters if the markings on the otherwise empty platform were anything to go by. Dropping down on to the surface, the orbiting drones swooped down to ground level in an attempt to assault the lombax and human as they tried to advance; Ratchet's Pyrocitor clearing a path through their ranks while Ellen tried to concentrate on the more dangerous blarg behind them. With the robots scrapped, it became a deadly game of hopscotch as the human and lombax nimbly ducked and dodged around the constant torrent of ground scorching flames being sent their way by the suited soldiers that remained.

Before either could get close enough to do any damage though, a pair of the advanced orange-painted blarg fighters swooped around from a nearby asteroid to hover over their surviving allies and unleashed a storm of rocket fire at the hastily retreating intruders. Reaching the relative safety of the elongated bunker's last corner, Ellen rested her helmeted head back against the wall while breathing heavily. "Holy shit, that was close! They were just waiting to draw us in."

The relatively nonplussed lombax spoke up from beside her. "Yeah, but we've had worse. Think you can hit one of them from where we are?"

A TV guided missile cleared the corner of the low-lying structure, barely missing a support strut as it streaked over the blarg soldier's heads to detonate against the nose of the nearest fighter craft and shower the deck with shrapnel. Before anyone could recover, Ratchet was already running full tilt back into the fray; flipping sideways in mid-air to pump a pair of rockets into the remaining VTOL before turning his attention and Omni-Wrench on the nearest hazmat trooper.

With nothing else left moving on the platform, the team set out once more. Taking a narrowly ascending path that looped around on itself, they found themselves confronted by another blockhouse bunker bristling with machine guns turned their way; only this time there was no obvious door to crack open for a direct assault. Falling back for now, Ellen paused in thought at the sight of three evenly spaced vents placed on the rear wall of the fortified bunker running parallel to the landing strip. Curiosity piqued, she chanced a look inside the nearest one only to smirk at what she saw. Each ventilation shaft led to one of the machine guns up top, and although it was far too small to squeeze through, the redhead found that with a steadily aimed Blaster she could easily take out the blarg heavy weapon operators from behind without them even realising .

With the machine guns silenced, a second attempt to pass by the bunker wall was much more successful. A short jog to the end of the area yielded another elevator shaft, though Ratchet was cautious about pressing the button yet since his Magna Boots reacted to the surface immediately after he stepped inside. "Babe, you might wanna hold on tight. I gotta feeling this thing doesn't just go down."

Taking his advice to heart, Ellen straddled the lombax's waist once more with her arms wrapped around his neck as he activated the lift. Instead of descending as might be expected however, the elevator platform instead lowered slightly while rotating on its axis until the occupants were hanging upside down from what was nominally the ceiling, with Ratchet and his passengers waddling forth into a massive circular hanger surrounded by thick-plated glass walls giving a panoramic view of the stars outside and a blarg dropship attached to the roof via clamps. What grabbed his attention most though was the half-dozen strong squad of hazmat troopers stood waiting in the centre of the room; surrounded by a vast horde of combat drones with more being pumped out of generators spread out in strategic locations every few seconds.

"Ellen? Clank? I... _think_ we might be in trouble..."

Clank craned his neck to look over the lombax's shoulder. "What do you mean?"

Ellen's eyes followed the lombax's gaze before widening considerably. "Oh shit... That's way too many for us to deal with."

Ratchet continued to plod on, trying to keep his footsteps as quiet and even as his lowered voice. "Which is why we're gonna make for the elevator over there and scram. First we'll-" Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as his Magna Boots suddenly lost power; depositing the flailing mass of shrieking lombax, human, and robot in an undignified heap dead centre of the now silent hanger. Thanks to the less than perfect artificial gravity on the space station, Ratchet quickly recovered from what would otherwise been a horrific fall. Once disentangled, he pulled a groaning Ellen to her feet and stared back at the shocked looking blarg soldiers and indifferent mass produced machines surrounding them with a cocky smile. "Sorry fellas, must have took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom."

And then all hell broke loose.

As one, the drones surged forth in a tide of burnished orange beaks and wings; their blarg masters right behind them with overlapping walls of flame sweeping forth like an ocean tide. Ratchet ran, dragging Ellen behind him as he bobbed and weaved through their assailants in an attempt to either escape or find some breathing room in order to counterattack. A drone blocking their path was swatted aside, the lombax's Omni-Wrench a blur as he tore through any of the expendable machines that got too close while his human partner used her Glove of Doom to leave a few explosive presents in their wake.

While Ellen's own cackling little helpers sowed chaos among the enemy's ranks, the duo used the brief respite to target the mobile field generators scattered around the room that even now were spitting out reinforcements to replace those lost. Ratchet's Pyrocitor engulfed a gaggle of the robotic avians and the generator behind them, never stopping as he ran past the wreckage with the red-headed girl close on his heels tossing bombs with wild abandon. A second generator met a similar fate, the pursuing drones sheer numbers working against them, packed together as they were with no room to manoeuvre. In fact, the remaining blarg soldiers camped out in the centre of the room were causing almost as many casualties amongst their own machines as the intruders were with their combined waves of fire.

With the third and final generator destroyed, it was simply a matter of whittling down the dwindling number of enemies to more manageable levels. With bullets, flame, and brute force, the drones quickly fell as the tables turned until only four hazmat troopers were left standing in the middle of the hanger with grim determination etched on what little could be seen of their faces. Dashing forward, Ratchet somersaulted over an incoming fire blast to slam his wrench into a blarg's helmet clad face; jumping back to avoid another's wild swing before lighting him up with the Pyrocitor. Ellen for her part drilled one of the blarg centre mass with her machine pistol before diving aside to avoid his fellow soldier's reprisal. Rolling aside to avoid the flame-spewing weapon about to be slammed into her stomach, she lashed out with a booted kick that staggered her opponent before her knife sang forth to sever one of the lines on his air tank.

The redhead watched with horrified fascination at what she had done as the blarg clawed at his throat before sinking to his knees, the tank on his back haemorrhaging oxygen rapidly before he finally collapsed. She felt a firm arm pull her away from the scene, followed by jade eyes filling her vision. "Don't dwell on it too much, it was either him or you. Come on, let's get out of here." She took one last look at the body and shuddered at the grim reminder of her near desensitisation to violence before running to catch up with her friends and companions; images of the casual brutality she had inflicted still imprinted in her mind.

The elevator led up to a narrow tinted glass corridor that went up two flights of stairs before finally terminating at a landing strip with a control tower, in front of which stood the one person in the universe who made Ratchet's blood boil more than any other. "Hello, _'Captain Ratchet'!_"

Ellen's trigger finger itched as she growled out the name of the man responsible for almost killing both her and her friends, on top of fracturing the fledging bonds they all shared. "_Qwark!_"

Not wasting any words, Ratchet charged forward with a snarl and his wrench raised high. Just as he was about to lay in to the traitor however, Qwark stepped back off of the platform into open space and vanished from sight. Pushing himself up on his elbows, the fuming lombax's eyes widened as the former hero rose up from the depths; laughing darkly as he stood astride a massive, heavily-armed dark green gunship about the size of a small frigate and shaped like a shovel head.

"Come and get me, _hero!_" With that sneering remark, Qwark climbed into the cockpit and sealed the canopy before flying off.

Ellen hosed the retreating vessel with bullets until her machine pistol ran empty, despite realising how futile such an action was. "Son of a bitch! He's getting away!"

Ever the calm and logical sort, Clank's gaze fell upon a nearby open hanger where a spacefaring version of the same jet fighter they had piloted before sat parked and ready. "Perhaps we could utilise that ship in there."

Pushing himself to his feet, Ratchet glanced in the direction the little silver robot had pointed before running towards the hanger at breakneck speed. "Great idea! C'mon, let's go!"

Settling into their usual positions, the lombax swapped his O2 mask for the neural link inducing pilot helmet as soon as the canopy was sealed before pushing the throttle to the max; gradually gaining speed as they left the hanger for the runway leading out into space. Glancing out the side of the cockpit once they were up, it didn't take Ellen long to spot their foe. "There he is, 10 o'clock low!"

Ratchet jerked the fighter to the left as Qwark's gunship climbed steeply from underneath the space station, bringing them on the same flight path as the spandex clad former hero pushed his vessel's six engines to rapidly gain some distance. Hitting the afterburners, the orange-painted craft skimmed through a cluster of meteorites orbiting the facility in order to cut off the larger ship as it lazily banked around the obstacles.

"Keep it steady, I've almost got a lock." Ellen didn't get a response from her lombax pilot, but he did oblige by flying a straight course with the mounted machine guns tearing into the gunship's thickly armoured left most engine nacelle. In response, Qwark began to let loose a steady stream of homing torpedoes from the launch tubes mounted beneath the large craft's belly; the smart munitions performing a U-turn to target the pursuing ship behind him.

"Hang on to something, I gotta go defensive!"

With brief bursts of speed and knee jerk twitches, Ratchet managed to evade the first few missiles only for one to detonate just off the port side engine; tearing away part of the housing and leaving it vulnerable. Pushing the throttle to its limit, the lombax yanked the fighter into a high-G turn that bought them back around to the left outermost of the gunship's engines before raking it mercilessly with machine gun fire until it sputtered and died.

"Nice shot, kid. I owe you one." No sooner had Qwark's transmission ended when the dead engine block was jettisoned from the main vessel into its orange-painted pursuers current flight path, giving the surprised lombax pilot little time to wrench the fighter into a spiralling corkscrew in order to avoid a lethal collision.

Before Ratchet could get back on track though, it became clear that Qwark's unconventional projectile had been little more than a distraction for laying dozens of mines in his wake. "Son of a- Get those missiles ready, I'm taking us in!"

True to his word, the lombax ducked and weaved through the field of bobbing explosives until he was able to give Ellen the few precious seconds she needed; launching a pair of missiles that tore off the outer right engine completely. Rolling to the left to avoid another incoming torpedo, the fighter's occupants ignored Qwark's cursing over the radio in favour of pouring as much fire as possible into the remaining engines.

"Time to get up close and personal." Apparently having decided he'd had enough of running, the ex-hero spun the ship around to face his foes head on; giving them no chance to evade as a tractor beam drew the temporarily immobilised fighter into the waiting mouths of his torpedo tubes.

"Get us out of here!"

Ratchet slammed the engines into reverse, but quickly realised that there was nothing he could do to get away from the magnetic force holding them in position. "I can't, we're stuck!"

With nowhere to run, the lombax was forced to use what limited control he had to angle the fighter's guns on to the incoming torpedoes as they launched one after another. Taking a chance, Ellen dumb-fired a missile at the imposing vessel as Ratchet swung their ship from one target to the next; managing to strike just below the gold-tinted canopy, and more importantly distracting Qwark. With a yell of panic. The former hero jerked the control column to one side, inadvertently disengaging the tractor beam and freeing the trapped fighter as he turned tail once more with Ratchet shortly following in hot pursuit. Another salvo of homing torpedoes were nimbly dodged or drawn into surrounding asteroids to explode harmlessly while machine guns and missiles were used to deadly effect against the mid-left engine, which promptly shattered under their concentrated fire.

"Gah! Enough practice, let's have some fun..."

Putting up a green, translucent bubble shield similar to that used by the blargian snagglebeast back on Umbris, Qwark pitched the now much lighter gunship into a nearby asteroid field and was soon lost from view. Turning to follow, Ratchet's ears perked up at the beeping negative tone sounding in his helmet followed shortly after by Ellen's warning. "Got incoming on radar. Eight contacts, dead ahead."

Sure enough, a cluster of orange dots emerged from the black of space and resolved into a squadron of the advanced VTOL capable starfighters screaming in with guns blazing plasma. Ellen managed to let off a missile shot that went wide as her lombax pilot jinked right, gunning down one before inverting and diving for the cover of the asteroid field with the enemy craft close on their tail. Practically scraping the giant space rocks as they ducked and weaved, the solitary space craft managed to lose another of their pursuers when he misjudged the gap between two asteroids and was promptly pulverised.

Reaching a slight clearing in the asteroid field, Ratchet had to act fast as a pair of enemy fighters ambushed them from their hovering positions on either side; a pair of missiles taking care of one while the other was avoided by going vertical out of the floating space debris and back into open space once again. Oddly enough, this bought the bright orange starfighter out behind Qwark's still shielded vessel, where the remaining enemy ships were now hovering in a protective formation while vectoring backwards with their weapons pointed towards the three companion's ship. Frankly, it was quite an impressive feat, but ultimately doomed since it took away their advantage of mobility. One by one, the defending squadron was whittled down as they meandered through the asteroid belt in a vague circuit of the space station's exterior; machine guns and the occasional missile tearing them apart with unerring accuracy now that they were helpfully holding a predictable pattern.

"Well it looks like if you want a job done right, you've gotta do it yourself!"

As the last blarg ship fell, the shield dropped on what remained of Qwark's vessel and he began to spam the area with mines again in an attempt to slow down the vengeful lombax on his tail. Ratchet wasn't having any of it though, using the fighter's superior agility to keep inside the bulky gunship's turning circle while constantly raking the hull with machine gun fire. A missile shot scrapped the last outer engine, leaving only the core of the once imposing vessel remaining as it dipped past the station's control tower.

"Now you're _really_ in trouble!"

Despite his bluster, Qwark's tactics were becoming stale and predictable. Once again he spun around and ensnared the starfighter in a tractor beam while attempting to pummel it with torpedoes, but all he managed to do was to make himself a bigger target. One of the remaining two engines ruptured and, deciding discretion was the better part of valour, the treacherous former hero turned tail and tried to get the hell out of there. "Think you got me, huh? Catch me if you can!"

Unfortunately for him, Ratchet and Ellen were more than capable of keeping up the pressure; the lombax expertly weaving through the trail of mines left in Qwark's wake while his human partner took every opportunity to slam a missile into the rapidly crumbing vessel.

"Look, I've always liked you kiddo. I was just-" Whatever else Qwark was going to say was cut off in burst of static as the last engine imploded; the wreckage of the once menacing gunship spinning out of control through the asteroid field and leaving the space station far behind. "Ahh! Mayday! Mayday!" The downed vessel's velocity combined with the gravitational pull resulted in Qwark plummeting to the nearby planet Oltanis below. "Well Ratchet, I'd say you've passed the test! Ah-ha ha... oh boy..."

The lombax didn't bother to answer the rapidly decaying radio transmission, content to hear his adversary scream in terror as the mangled war machine burned up in the atmosphere. None of the fighter's crew noticed the small man-shaped object ejecting from the doomed gunship just before it disintegrated since Ratchet had already turned the battered ship around and was nursing it back to Gemlik moon base.

Upon landing, Ratchet and Ellen were all smiles and frankly feeling rather pleased with themselves. "Yes! Qwark is _history!_"

The fist pumping lombax met the gaze of the equally jubilant human stood beside him, exchanging high fives and fist bumps as she added her own two bolts. "We got the bastard!"

Having remained mostly silent up until now, Clank decided to interrupt their celebration before anyone could get too carried away. "Despite my earlier criticism, I must admit that your piloting skills are improving, Ratchet."

You could practically hear the smirk in the lombax's tone as he and Ellen fell in beside the sentient machine, the three walking together up the landing strip and back towards the hangers at the end. "I knew you'd come around."

Clank shot him a narrow-opticed look at his nonchalant attitude before continuing. "But that has not helped us locate Drek."

Ellen smiled down at her smallest companion. "Maybe not, but we managed to take out a major station and one of Drek's trump cards in one fell swoop."

Ratchet nodded in agreement. "Yeah Clank, can't you just once relax and enjoy a... little... success?

So wrapped up as they were in conversation, it seemed that the three had inadvertently walked past the fighter hangers and emerged around the back, where the sight before them had caused the lombax's words to falter. Parked on a landing pad with its golden-hued canopy ajar was a sleek, predatory ship of the darkest shade of midnight purple; a large engine set in each wing next to a heavy laser cannon. the smooth curves and jagged edges along with the prominent armament made it fairly obvious that this was a military vessel, though why no one thought to use it against the trio when they were fighting Qwark was a mystery.

"Hey, you wanna catch Drek? Betcha this baby can do it!" Before Ratchet could examine the ship further, an infobot popped up and floated down form the cockpit; the message it carried not hopeful in the least.

"This is Darla Gratch reporting live from Gorda City." The robot news reporter they had last seen being eaten by an amoeboid on Rilgar appeared to be no worse off for the experience, and was stood with microphone in hand on a street overlooking the rain-swept, gutted ruins of what once must have been a magnificent city. "This once peaceful planet is being torn apart today in an unprovoked attack." In the background, what looked like the purple-skinned novalian equivalent of one Doctor Emmett Brown considering the wild hairdo was running back and forth off screen in hysterics, though this didn't seem to bother the newshound that much. "It now seems certain that Supreme Executive Chairman Drek will not be dissuaded in his efforts to destroy the galaxy for his own selfish needs. All hope certainly seems lost. Darla Gratch, Channel two news."

With the infobot's message finished, an awkward silence descended on the three as Clank packed it away in his chest cavity. Ears drooping, Ratchet felt hollow as he avoided eye contact and looked down at his feet. "Umm..."

Clank looked up at the lombax with sympathetic optics. "Yes, I know. It is worse than I expected too."

Taking a deep breath before exhaling slowly, Ratchet turned to face the small robot. "Look, maybe you were right. This is a lot bigger than you or me. I was really selfish focusing on Qwark, and I kinda took you for granted." He vented briefly, psyching himself up before carrying on. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry Clank, for giving you such a hard time, and acting like complete douche when you didn't deserve it."

Giving him an encouraging smile, Clank stepped closer to shorten the distance between them. "I know, and I forgive you Ratchet. As I said before, I am sure you will do the right thing for the galaxy. Perhaps we should take this opportunity to start anew. Friends?"

The lombax stared at the extended metal appendage in front of him for a moment before grasping it firmly with his own gloved hand; warmth evident in his tone as they shook. "Friends, and partners. All three of us."

Ellen positively beamed at her two companions. "It's about time you two made up. Now, what's our next move?"

Clank swiped his dinky metal fist through the air. "It is not too late to stop Drek, we must get the planet's surface immediately."

Ratchet's ears started to perk up, his eyes brightening along with his mood. "Hey... yeah! We got this new ship, let's go get 'em!"

The minute machine smiled back as everyone made their way over to the parked starfighter. "Now you are talking."

From what they could make out, the ship was an advanced prototype fighter capable of interplanetary travel if the heavily upgraded engines were anything to go by. Though the weapons were non-functional, the twin side by side seats made the interior fairly comfy considering its military nature as the dark-painted craft smoothly lifted off and made way towards Oltanis. It was fortunate that the space station the trio were now leaving was practically on the planet's doorstep, since they only had to travel for a few minutes in order to get to the predominantly silver planet. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.

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**So yeah, this turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated. The battle against Qwark might not have been as good as I had envisioned it in my mind, but on the plus side****…**** Well, I think you all know what****'****s coming up next chapter, but I won****'****t spoil it for those that don****'****t. On another note, the next chapter may well be delayed due to me attending a family get together next weekend where I****'****ll have no web access whatsoever. I****'****ll try to post early if I can, but can****'****t promise anything. Here****'****s a-hoping.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	19. Chapter 19: Ruins & Retribution

**Author****'****s note:**

**Sorry I****'****m late everyone, got back late last night and was frankly too exhausted to type anything coherent. Thankfully I****'****ve got the day off from work to recover and finally get this thing posted. With luck I should be able to get back to my regularly scheduled updates as of this Sunday, assuming nothing else throws a spanner in the works in the meantime. On a more positive note, this story has just reached 100 reviews! Imagine my surprise upon checking my account after three days of no access only to find a mass of reviews and a major milestone all in one go. Well pleased and raring to get this thing back on course once more. Again, sorry for the delay; hopefully this chapter will be up to par in spite of my last minute rush to finish.**

**Review replies:**

**dablackwyrm - I tend to find this a common pitfall for some stories, where by the main protagonist, despite never being exposed to excessive violence, is suddenly okay with the horrors of combat without batting an eye. Like you said, seeing something on TV and experiencing it up close are too very different things that aren****'****t suddenly just got over in a matter of hours. I****'****d have to agree with you; the game does seem to be split in to three distinct acts that define Ratchet and Clank****'****s relationship, with the third being characterised by them making up and the following race against time to stop Drek.**

**As for Qwark****…**** You didn****'****t think I was just going to leave him like that, did you? Our heroes will be paying him a friendly visit soon enough. Thank you for approving of Ellen as a character, I must admit that the tragic OC with a dark past has become something of a cliché in fan fics during recent years. I****'****ve tried to steer Ellen away from such a stereotype to be less depressing and more hopeful for want of a better term. I wouldn****'****t call your feedback rambling at all. If no one took the time to let me know how and where I was doing well or not, then I would never get any better or know what to change. I****'****d hardly call my amateurish writing ****'****perfection****'****, but I****'****m flattered anyway. Take care, hope to hear from you soon.**

**BillyB0ster - And so I shall, thanks for reviewing.**

**CL0ckW3rK - Believe me, I intend to. When it comes to crowd control in the first game, nothing gets the job done better. Plus Ratchet needs something with a little more reach since all I****'****ve given him so far is mostly close quarters stuff.**

**destiny - Thank you once again, hope you like this one too.**

**ReginaDC21 - That****'****s got to be one gigantic pain the ass, even ordinary day to day stuff must be a challenge. All you can do is plough on regardless like you have with sheer bloody minded determination and an extended vocabulary of appropriate curses for when things inevitably go wrong.**

**That****'****s actually not a bad idea to include Al****'****s siblings in the sequels in a way that makes sense, though I****'****m leaning more towards putting them in the third story and the fight against Nefarious seeing as everyone will be back in the Solana galaxy together again. Maybe I could make them part of the Phoenix****'****s crew****…****hmm****…****Ellen will definitely getting better gear for the sequel, though I was thinking more of a jump pack like Clank****'****s Thruster pack upgrade rather than a true jet pack since flying around freely would be a bit of a game breaker.**

**Thank you once again for the review and for the suggestion, I****'****m going to have to start writing ideas down again for when I start on the next story. Hope you****'****re arm gets better soon, take care.**

**Capser - Glad you like the story so far. I sent you a PM with a short how to guide on posting your first story, I hope that helps. If you need any more assistance feel free to drop me a line via review, PM, or E-mail and I****'****ll do what I can.**

**Sonachugirl - A chance to confront Qwark face to face? Not an opportunity I****'****m going to let slip by, regardless of the convoluted method of getting there in the first place. As for the male obsession for ****'****appreciating****'**** the lower rear protrusion of the feminine form****…**** Yes it is, and no you probably don****'****t. Ahem. Moving on, the third game is a favourite to me, with Nefarious being the best villain in my opinion hands down. Definitely looking forward to writing for him.**

**BulletWitch1985 - Welcome back, great to hear from you again. Hope everything****'****s alright on your end and you****'****ve managed to get the ball rolling on your own story. I don****'****t think Azimuth would get on with Ellen initially at least, though he would probably see her skills as a potential asset to aid his own plans and tolerate her because of Ratchet. Over time though, who knows? If he knew what Earth is like in the mid 2010****'****s he****'****d probably see it as backwards and primitive compared to the rest of the Galaxy, but with the potential to grow considering both lombaxes and humans have a knack for constantly tweaking and improving technology at a ridiculous rate. Actually, that****'****d be a pretty interesting conversation/verbal sparring match to see****…**** I smell a potential plot bunny in the making. Until next time, thanks once again and hope you enjoy this chapter as much as previous ones.**

**Guest - Thank you very much, it****'****s funny how many people like the story for sticking to the original plot rather than going off on a tangent. Maybe we all just like familiarity? I fully intend to make this story the first in a trilogy, and possibly an anthology if I take it further. For the time being though, yes there will at least a sequel and another before I even consider myself anywhere near done. Might take a while though.**

**Capser and Cytramiraak**

**New Favourites and follows! Woo! Many thanks to Rebecca Kizuna for adding this story to your favourites along with Capser and Cytramiraak who have also added it to their alerts. Thank you one and all for sticking with me through this often slow and laborious process when I know you really want to read the next chapter right now, damn it! **

**As always, please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Almost in to the final stretch now, here****'****s Chapter 19**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 19: **

**Ruins &amp; Retribution**

* * *

**Gorda City Ruins, Oltanis**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**5:29pm local time**

They were too late to save the city, that much was obvious

Rain lashed down and howling winds whipped through the gutted remains of what were once magnificently towering skyscrapers, spluttering the fires that raged on multiple floors while predatory black-painted blarg attack aircraft cruised the dark and gloomy skies with impunity. It wasn't much better looking at street level once Ratchet had managed to find a space to park; an abandoned private landing pad dead centre in the middle of the urban war zone, surrounded on all sides by crumbling buildings and flaming debris. To make matters worse, once the three had exited the borrowed starfighter, a bolt of lightning from the brewing storm struck Clank directly on his antennae and sent him flying.

"Clank!" Ratchet whipped around to see his red-headed partner already rushing to their fallen metal friend as he convulsed with electricity for a moment before finally stilling.

Racing towards his downed form, Ratchet sank to his knees as Ellen yelped and yanked her fingers away from the sudden jolt of electricity arcing from the little robot's still charged body. Fortunately the lombax had no such problems with his thick insulated gloves, firmly grasping tiny metal shoulders and desperately trying to rouse him into consciousness. "Clank?! Clank! C'mon, Wake up!"

Systems rebooting from the unexpected jolt, Clank's optics were unfocused as they onlined until they sharpened enough to make out a large pair of emerald green eyes filling his vision, with the hint of a blurry second figure to his left. Judging from his response however, it was clear that though his optics were functioning just fine, his processor clearly hadn't caught up yet. "Captain... Qwark?"

Ratchet laughed in relief as the minute machine gingerly staggered to his feet. "No goofball, it's us, Ratchet and Ellen."

Clank looked around the immediate area, optic shuttering in confusion. "What... happened?"

Ellen knelt down to give him a light hug, mindful of the conductive nature of his body. "You nearly gave us a heart attack is what happened."

Seeking a more in depth explanation, Clank turned a quizzical expression towards the lombax stood close by. "You got _toasted_ by lightning! This place is having one heck of a storm, you won't be safe out here."

Bending down to pick him up, Ellen scooped up the minute machine and deposited him on the ship's wing where he could reach the cockpit on his own. "You'd be best off staying put for now, we'll be back before you know it."

Clank nodded cordially before closing the canopy and sealing himself inside. "I understand. Please be careful, both of you."

Thunder rumbled as the remaining two companions walked across the rainswept landing pad to the Gadgetron vendor situated just on the edge. "Well, guess it's just you and me for now."

Ellen pushed a few clumps of soaked hair out of her face while they waited for the interface to open and display the current stock. "Yeah... Just hope we don't run in to a situation where we really need Clank any time soon. Alright, let's see what we've got."

Among the myriad of duplicate weapons and sub-par equipment were a couple of gems worth taking note of. Desperately needing something with longer range to compete with Ellen's Blaster, Ratchet blew virtually all his bolts on the sole Tesla Claw in stock; a weapon designed to shoot bolts of electricity that was worn as much as wielded, with two prominent arched prongs protruding from the front acting as conductors. Ellen on the other hand choose the comparatively inexpensive Drone Device, which would deploy a cluster of expendable, ball-shaped silver drones around the user as a defensive screen against incoming fire and melee attackers.

Once their ammo supplies were topped up once more, Ratchet and Ellen took a small lift down to the remains of a crater-strewn plaza where a large bronze statue of a cog set on a spring with a lightening bolt spearing through the top sat in the middle. Taking the only visible route to the city interior off to one side, they slid down a pile of rubble into an alleyway that had seen better days and straight into the spindly arms of a pair of the mono-opticed floating drones they had encountered previously on Batalia. With both machines smashed beyond repair, both human and lombax carefully advanced down the narrow urban corridor with weapons raised and ready.

Moving into a more spacious area with phone booths crushed by rubble and a flickering advertising board of Qwark selling some mundane product above, Ellen's eyes roved cautiously as a twinge of sorrow entered her voice. "I don't see any bodies... Do you think everyone got out okay?"

Ratchet hummed in thought, though his eyes never left their surroundings as he advanced slowly alongside her. "They're probably all hiding in an emergency shelter, or hightailed it outta here once the attack started. Still, could be a few scattered around here somewhere."

Ellen skirted around a particularly deep crater as she replied. "Well I guess we'd better- Huh?"

They were instantly on alert as a manhole cover opened just in front of them; a quartet of robots comprised of a reddish torso perched on a gleaming ball of white energy, with a claw for a right arm and a tri-digited left, pouring out to block the alleyway. One of the machines raised its right arm, and with the stench of burnt atmosphere, a bolt of electricity split the air with a crack to punch a hole in the wall behind where Ellen's head would have been had she not ducked and rolled to one side instinctively.

Springing up with Blaster in hand, the closest hostile took a surprising amount of lead from the Ellen's Blaster before collapsing; forcing her to keep mobile as the remaining machines moved to retaliate. Ratchet however had considerably more luck with his new toy; the Tesla Claw chaining artificial lightning between the three clustered robots and causing enough damage for his human partner to tag one with a thrown bomb while he overloaded the other two. Checking the broken mechanical soldiers weren't going to get back up, the lombax led them past the replaced manhole and up a ledge to a raised area still confined within the alleyway.

"Those things must have had proxy sensors, just waitin' to ambush someone. Guess the blarg aren't finished here after all."

Before Ellen could reply, a bright yellow micro-gunship descended into the alley ahead with barely enough room to spare; its solitary weapon spitting out grenades in a random pattern to blanket the area. Quick as a flash, Ratchet bought up his Devastator and pumped rocket after rocket into the surprisingly resilient flying machine until it detonated with a screech of rent metal and flames, which were quickly doused by the harsh rainfall. Clambering over the wreckage of what turned out to be an unmanned aerial vehicle, the duo soon ran into another pack of the spindly-limbed, mono-opticed drones, followed shortly by another squad of the lightning shooting robots rolling around the corner.

Omni-Wrench and Versa Blade sang through the air, a vicious kick from Ellen booting one of the small mechs back into one of its fellows and giving her enough breathing space to put rapid machine pistol bursts into the pair. As the larger robots got close enough to draw a bead on them, Ratchet grabbed the human by the arm and pulled her back off the ledge just in time to avoid the storm of electricity dancing through the area above where they had stood. With Ellen using the Glove of Doom to toss a few of her little helpers up into the occupied area above their heads, Ratchet adding a few bombs of his own to the mix in a saturation of explosives that reverberated throughout the confined area.

The redhead waited for the cackling and detonations from above to die down before vaulting up beside her lombax companion, who merrily finished off the surviving robots with his wrench before leading them round the corner and finally out of the alley. Scaling a pile of rubble bought them out onto a rainswept tiled plaza that had seen better days considering the scattered debris and burning foundations of a building to their left. What little respite they had however was shattered as another drone gunship flew in from behind a large cylindrical tower to hover menacingly over the far end of the plaza; a pair of manholes snapping open up ahead to disgorge more lightning-shooting rolling robots even as the flying machine prepared to launch its first salvo.

A TV guided missile from Ellen's Visibomb Gun soon put paid to that idea, Ratchet dragging her into the relative cover of an overturned phone booth to their right before the area was lit up with arcing electricity from the vengeful machines. The lombax returned the favour in kind, settling his Tesla Claw on top of their cover and shooting a pair of condensed lightning bolts at the nearest foe; catching another with the residual energy from the blast that was amplified by puddles of rainwater throughout the plaza. Ellen on the other hand opted to toss out another canister from her Glove of Doom while hunkering down to avoid the thunderous energy blasts directed their way; her little helpers dispatching the other two distracted robots with muffled explosions and mechanical cackling that was almost lost in the proceeding rumble of thunder from above.

With the immediate area clear, the lombax and human pulled themselves up to a raised platform just off to one side of the plaza, where a long and winding grind rail disappeared from view as it turned behind a large circular tower. "Guess we get to take the fun way. Hop on, babe."

Grasping his shoulders, Ellen boosted herself up on to Ratchet's back and held on tight as he jumped on to the thin metal strut, riding it like a surfer catching a wave. Unfortunately their little trip was over before it really began, the rail ending abruptly and dropping them heavily on a pock-marked grey platform where a half-dozen roller bots stood waiting in front of their recently vacated manholes.

Both human and lombax scattered as the first bolts of electricity scorched the already damaged tiled surface, the tight quarters giving them no respite from the murderous machines' wrath. Ratchet leapt astride the closest combat mech, his wrench repeatedly hammering away at its blue-opticed head until a misjudged crackle of lightning punched through the machine's torso instead of the lombax it was supposed to be targeting. Jumping from the toppling metal corpse, Ratchet tucked into a roll as he hit the ground and flung his wrench at a robot about to blindside Ellen before going to town with his Tesla Claw and frying his would be assailant.

Ellen meanwhile was kept off balance as a trio of the robots tried to box her into a corner with alternating suppressing fire. Ducking under another sizzling bolt of ozone-burning electricity, she took the opportunity offered by the slight delay in her opponent's weapons warming up to fire, and punched her Blaster towards the closest one's head on full auto. Optics shattered, the machine's sparking body became a shield against further attack while she switched weapons, before hurling a pair of bombs that staggered one robot and blew the other off the platform to plummet to the planet's surface below. A close range rocket blast tore apart the last one, Ellen turning to see Ratchet stood there with his Devastator held aloft and a broad grin on his face as he breathed deeply.

"Well... that went well. You okay?"

She shook her head in mirth. "Other than being soaked to the skin and nearly flash fried, just peachy. Shall we?

Ratchet gave a mocking bow to go along with the smug grin. "Of course my lady, your carriage awaits."

Ellen rolled her eyes with a wry smile. "Jackass."

The lombax laughed good naturedly and took the lead once again; his Pyrocitor incinerating a trio of idly floating spindly drones as they crossed a short bridge, before hauling themselves up to a precariously narrow walkway suspended far above the cloud of smog obscuring the streets below. Of course, another one of those unmanned gunships just had to pick that moment to fly in through the hole blasted through a nearby skyscraper and hover above them ready to rain down explosive death.

"Oh shit, run!" Ratchet did so with Ellen struggling to keep pace as a swathe of bouncing air-launched grenades detonated in a chain of explosions that threatened to destabilise the crumbling structure at any moment.

Making a sharp 90 degree turn, the beleaguered pair sprinted along the groaning walkway and leapt on to relative safety of a window cleaners lift stopped just below the bombed out top floor of an adjoining skyscraper, their previous footing breaking free a heartbeat later in a heap of twisted metal that soon fell out of sight hundreds of feet below. Things didn't get any easier once they'd managed to pull themselves up on to the mostly barren floor; a trio of floating drones hidden in the corner of the one wall left standing attempting to ambush the intrepid duo, only to explode when a stream of electricity meant for the organics struck them instead. Wheeling around, Ratchet and Ellen caught sight of yet another roller bot charging up its clawed arm weapon, only to be torn apart in turn by Blaster and Tesla Claw.

Finding another route leading from the opposite side of the building, the mismatched pair silenced an automated machine gun turret blocking their path before it could fully wake up and followed the walkway through a broken arch guarding a fairly wide fenced in platform. With the odd drone stragglers orbiting the platform destroyed, Ellen looked on with bemusement at the gleeful expression on Ratchet's face upon seeing the veritable rollercoaster of three parallel grind rails winding through the city from where they stood. "This is gonna be _sweet!_ Ready to go for another ride, babe?"

She flashed him a matching grin with a near imperceptible twinkle in her eyes. "Only if I get to go on top, fuzz ball."

The near innuendo apparently went straight over the lombax's head considering his lack of reaction, that or he was far too wrapped up in his near childish excitement to notice as Ellen positioned herself on his back with her legs wrapped around his waist and arms circling the nape of his neck. As they hopped on to the middle rail, the redhead couldn't help but yell out in joy at the unique thrill ride; not caring about the driving rain or buffeting wind as their path went through a large bronze-ringed construct adorned with lightning conductors that acted as a support strut and into a steep incline that saw their speed pick up sharply. It was then that the smell of burnt ozone, followed by a crack of lightning skimming past them close enough to feel the heat, had her head whipping around to see three of the roller ball propelled robots in close pursuit.

"Ratchet, behind us!"

The lombax flipped to an opposing rail as another electrified pulse streaked by their former position. "I know, just hang on!"

Occupying each lane, the mechanised soldiers continued to fire upon the dodging organics as the rails steadily climbed before descending once more, finally levelling out to pass through a short tunnel. Following a left hand curve around a tall office building, Ratchet spied an opportunity to lose at least some of their pursuers. "Hold on tight, this is gonna get bumpy!"

The outer most rails up ahead split to curve around a pair of lightning rod towers flanking the central rail, crackling with stored up power from the city wide storm. At the last possible second, Ratchet flipped from the middle rail on to the left; the roller bot directly behind either incapable of changing lanes or plain not noticing as it passed between the two towers, where its metal body was practically vaporised by the violent discharge of electrical energy. The other two still continued their dogged pursuit; the lombax neatly dodging another blast of condensed lightning from behind even as a small flying robot deposited a floating mine in their path. Thankfully a brief staccato of gunfire past Ratchet's ear set the explosive off prematurely before they could get close; a brief glance from the corner of his eye showing Ellen's machine pistol aimed unsteadily over his shoulder.

Taking the left most rail around another set of oversized lightning conductors, the rail riding pair noted the robot on the far right lane disintegrate as it slammed into the barrier of arcing electricity between the two towers. Rounding another corner, Ellen tried to get a burst off at their last pursuer, but her constantly jostled aim combined with the insane amount of wind resistance whipping up around them meant none of her bullets found their mark.

Flipping over yet another bolt of artificial lightning sent their way along with a dropped mine, Ratchet moved them to the right most lane to circumvent a third pair of giant lightning rods and had the satisfaction of watching the last roller bot fry as the barely contained natural electricity tore it apart. Any celebrations were cut off however as the rail seemed to rise sharply all of a sudden, and before either knew it they ended entirely; sending the pair flying through the air only to land in a fairly intact alley with a surprisingly still running junk shop recessed into the right wall behind an open shutter.

"Hey, hey, welcome to my shop! What can I get you?!" The borderline shouting novalian man behind the counter turned out to be the same Doc Brown look-alike from the news report they'd seen on the moon base before departing, his face and hair stained with soot as he peered at the duo from behind cracked glasses while waving around a datapad.

"We're looking for Drek," Ratchet gestured with his hand held flat around waist level to indicate someone of small stature.

"You know, the blargian guy? Short, evil, trying to destroy the galaxy?" Ellen added from beside him.

"Sure! Yeah, we got lots of stuff on sale! After the bombing, no one's been around to buy anything!"

Ratchet exchanged a brief look with Ellen who merely shrugged before turning his attention back to the salesman. "Uh...are you okay?"

The novalian's brow furrowed as he leaned forward with a hand cupped around his ear, then suddenly straightened up with a smile as he seemed to understand what the lombax was asking. "Low prices? You bet! I can make you a deal on a busted turborator, a mangled carboniser or... I got this infobot!"

Or not.

Ratchet fell back on the time worn, and often misinterpreted method of communicating with foreigners and those who plain don't understand what you're trying to convey: speak loudly and slow while making appropriate hand signs to get the message across. "Guess that bombing was pretty loud, huh?"

Despite miming a bomb dropping and pointing at his ears, the hearing impaired novalian apparently still didn't understand. "Oh-ho! You sir are one shrewd negotiator! I tell ya what, I can let this infobot go for half price!"

Ellen rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Just pay the man Ratchet. The poor bastard's obviously gone deaf."

Forking over a few thousand bolts, the obviously frazzled store owner set down the infobot on the counter with a smile. "Well, that's about it for me!"

Letting the redhead take the infobot in hand, Ratchet gave a strained smile back at the salesman and expressed his resigned gratitude. "Thanks!"

The novalian's facial features dropped in to a scowl as he jabbed a finger at the lombax. "Quit your complaining, I gave you a great deal! Sheesh!"

Rejoining his bemused human partner, Ratchet looked on as the infobot expanded to display another blarg funded advertisement. "Afraid to go out at night?" The still image of the robot lieutenant pointing a gun at a member of Fred's species rapidly changed with each of the narrator's rhetorical questions. "Afraid to go out during the day?" The screen changed to show one of the wrinkly prune-like snow dwelling aliens from Hoven menacing the same cat-like alien. "Just plain afraid?" The not-Fred still looked terrified of the small, blue-furred creature wearing orange-tinted goggles that Ellen identified as a mostly harmless sand mouse.

"Then you'll need _this;_ the Ultra Mech unlimited!" The camera panned out a close up of a cycloptic robot, reveal it to be a massive pale-yellow painted bipedal battle mech with a pair of pincer arms, a barrel-like cannon on one shoulder, and a spiked sphere on the other. "This mech is the ultimate in personal defence systems! Blarg Industries is now taking pre-orders!" The Ultra Mech scanned the immediate area as the camera panned around to show it off before the machine locked on to a pair of oblivious blarg scientists. "Get yours before it's too late!" The shoulder mounted cannon roared, the shell striking both scientists and the camera with a fiery explosion before the transmission blacked out.

"Now _that's_ what I call serious firepower! Clank's gonna be jealous if he sees this!"

Ellen failed to share the lombax's exuberance as she frowned in thought. "If the blarg have started mass producing those things, God only knows what kind of damage they'll do. We need to shut the place down before it's too late, but what if there're any more survivors scattered around..."

Ratchet squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as he held the infobot under his other arm. "Hey, don't worry. We'll take a look around for anyone else before we set off, just let me drop this off with Clank first."

After 'liberating' some nearby, neatly stacked crates of their valuable bolts, the pair found themselves before a shutter blocking the alleyway's exit. Standing on a nearby pressure plate caused the shutter to whir into life, transforming it into a wide ladder that led down to the plaza near their ship with the unique bronze statue set in the middle. Once they had dropped the infobot off with Clank to decode the coordinates embedded in its transmission, Ratchet and Ellen returned to the plaza and, at the lombax's insistence, began the painfully slow climb up a vertical ventilation shaft that bent backwards on itself via Magna Boots, with Ellen acting as his human backpack once again.

A small anti-gravity lift took them from hanging upside down to the battered rooftops of Gorda City; the howling wind and driving rain chilling them to the bone even as the lombax held his human companion steady while she recovered from the massive head rush she was still experiencing. Once both were ready, they clambered up on to a raised portion of the rooftop they were currently occupying, encompassed by an electric fence and coated in a thick layer of ice from the worsening weather conditions. The pair had no choice but to skate across the slippery surface, fighting against the buffeting winds almost blowing them over the edge before they could make it to the sheltered remnants of a still standing wall on the far side.

Squeezing through a gap in the crumbling structure, Ellen was beginning to regret coming along as she clung to Ratchet once more while traversing a ridiculously twisted ventilation system that dipped, curved, and looped around on itself far too many times to count. The floating mines orbiting the narrow path didn't help either. Finally back on level ground, The lombax breathed a sigh of relief as he set Ellen down on her own two feet, though neither were particularly happy with where they'd ended up.

Where once had been a gargantuan structure to dwarf the largest of starships, there was now a shattered husk of barely there segments of flooring held together with bent support struts and groaning ducting. Strong gale-force wind prevented the duo from taking the short route through the doomed structure, and so it was that the human and lombax found themselves both propelled by the wind at their backs across a median of iced over platforms, interspersed with pitfalls and sparking lightning conductors. The more their speed picked up, the harder it became to slow down as they jumped and dodged, until suddenly there was no more platform left between them and a one way ticket to the streets below.

Careening towards the edge with their demise only seconds away, Ratchet spotted perhaps the only way to get them out of this mess. Crouching down, the lombax grabbed Ellen's hand and at the last possible moment jumped to their left; using what momentum he had to swing her on to a thin ventilation duct running parallel between the two halves of the building. "Ratchet!"

While his human companion had tumbled onto the makeshift bridge and clung on against the wind, Ratchet had fallen short of his intended target and was now hanging on by his finger tips hundreds of feet up. Ellen grit her teeth with the strain as she grasped his arm, muscles straining with the effort needed to pull him up while preventing herself from falling in turn. With much struggle on both their parts, the pair soon found themselves lying on their backs on a narrow metal bridge while panting heavily; relief colouring their voices over the thundering storm.

"Thanks babe, that was way too close. You okay?"

Ellen brushed the matted curtains of hair from her eyes as she unsteadily got to her feet. "Tired, wet, and thoroughly miserable; otherwise fan-freaking-tastic. Let's just get out of here, I've got a feeling we won't be finding any survivors up here anyway."

Traversing the bridge, the miserably soaked pair found themselves negotiating yet another series of iced over platforms and active lightning conductors - thankfully minus the wind resistance this time - before climbing up to a mostly untouched piece of former flooring that gave a clear view of what was up ahead. "Oh look, more ventilation shafts. That's original."

Despite Ellen's snarkiness bought on by the God awful weather, the duo made their way through the corkscrewing mine-choked ducting anyway to emerge on yet another ice-sheathed rooftop; the missing sections giving it an almost hourglass shape. Unfortunately it was also occupied, a yellow-painted drone gunship vectoring in to bracket them with bouncing grenades while a solitary roller bot popped out of a roof access hatch to merrily send blasts of electricity their way. Forced to split apart by the explosive barrage, Ratchet nimbly hopped over the searing bolt of energy sent his way before sending a rocket-propelled response in return that unsurprisingly blew the robot to smithereens. Ellen on the other hand had fallen back on her Visibomb Gun to deal with the marauding flying machine; the guided missile easily correcting course to shatter the gunship's armoured shell and send it crashing to the planet's surface far below.

Managing to skate to the far side after that particularly close encounter, Ratchet and Ellen found themselves having to shimmy along a wall embedded with sharpened rebar before they could haul themselves up on to yet another ice rink of a platform. Hurricane force winds shoved them forwards before a hint of déjà vu could enter either of their minds, the pair being far too busy dodging crackling arcs of electricity from adjoining lightning rods while sliding forth at breakneck speeds towards the end of the rapidly ending platform. Fortunately for them, the wind slackened when it was needed most; lombax and human tiredly slogging off of the ice and on to a pockmarked, but otherwise intact platform occupied by a hastily assembled wooden stall decorated by a crudely painted Gadgetron banner and logo.

it was the figure stood behind the counter that caught the shocked duo's attention however; especially since it was someone neither thought they would have the displeasure of seeing again. "Captain Qwark!"

"Where?"

The spandex-clad former hero was fooling no one as he looked around in 'surprise', least of all the lombax and human he had tangled with mere hours before. Ratchet threw up his arms in exasperation. "Come on Qwark, we know it's you."

Qwark shifted uncomfortably for a moment until the gears in his head started to turn. "Uh... the name's Steve. Pleased to meet you."

The sole lombax present facepalmed with incredulity while a quietly smouldering Ellen wondered just how stupid the muscle-bound oaf thought they were considering he hadn't even bothered to disguise himself whatsoever. "Look 'Steve'," Ratchet began while making air quotes. "We need to know where Drek is before it's too late."

Qwark's eyes seemed to light up as his face split in to a pearly white smile. "Did you say...'too late'?" Pulling a clipboard out from under the counter, he began to read his sales pitch aloud in a flat and unpractised tone of voice. "Sir, it is never too late to acquire the latest in the long line of quality products from Gadgetron. I have for you, today only, the Gadgetron PDA-"

His rambling spiel was interrupted by the clearly unamused red-headed girl with a malicious glint in her eye leaning on the counter top with both hands to glare at him up close. "You know what Qwark? I've had just about enough of this bullshit. Look around you, people are dying out there and you're up here flogging bootleg gadgets after helping a lunatic launch a galaxy wide invasion! Considering you tried to tear us apart and kill us twice already, I'm being very lenient in not putting one through your thick skull right here, right now. So, if there's still a shred of decency left inside you, then us where Drek is so no more planets have to suffer."

It was certainly an odd sight to see Qwark looking so cowed by a girl not even two thirds his size, but whether that was down to the subtle threats, Ellen channelling her inner Dark Knight, or something else altogether was up for debate. "I don't know," The treacherous former hero hesitantly spoke. "Probably on his flagship, but it never stays in one place for more than a day. As a... humble spokesperson for Chairman Drek's new planet, I would never be informed of its exact location seeing as I am, after all, an outside contractee."

Seconds ticked by in silence save for the steady downpour from the rumbling heavens; Ellen's eyes narrowing to stare at a distinctly nervous looking Qwark before finally relenting. "Alright, fine. Didn't expect much anyway. Now, what's this PDA you're hawking?"

Returning to the false cheer expected of a veteran in media advertising, Qwark proceeded to explain that the Personal Delivery Assistant was used to purchase ammo for weapons directly from Gadgetron without having to visit a vendor; the only downside being that it cost twice as much to buy. Ratchet was frankly just as dubious as Ellen about the device actually working in the first place, but bought it anyway considering how useful it would prove in future battles to come. "Thank you and have a _Qwarktastic_ day!"

Ratchet gave the traitor turned salesman a lopsided frown. "What did you say, 'Steve'?"

Deflating, Qwark merely mumbled to himself with downcast eyes. "Nothing..."

Had it been left at that, both lombax and human would have been quite happy to leave and return to their ship. As Ellen turned around to follow Ratchet away however, she jumped from the sudden pinch on her rear; whipping around with eyes of cold anger at the lecherous grin on the perpetrator's face. Upon realising what had happened, Ratchet moved to deliver bloody retribution, only to halt as the flaring of ancient instincts encouraged him to stay out of the line of fire. After all, Hell hath no fury...

"Do you have a death wish?"

The human's venomous tone should have been warning enough; but apparently Qwark hadn't learned anything, or had experienced a sudden memory lapse of the distinctly one-way conversation from a few minutes earlier seeing as not only did he deign to touch the derriere of the girl who'd threatened his life, but he also had to open his big smarmy trap too. "What can I say, I like a girl with a bit of _spunk._"

He never saw it coming.

One second she was burning holes through Qwark with her eyes, the next Ellen was cradling her aching fist as the ex-hero's head snapped back with shock painting his facial features. "You should learn to keep your hands to yourself Qwark. Touch me again, and I _will_ kill you."

With that said, she stalked away from the still stunned lech to stand beside a concerned lombax. "Ellen, you alright? Need any help?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm fine..." The human winced briefly as her hand started to throb more prominently before giving him a sheepish grin. "Actually... Do you mind walking me off? I think I broke my wrist..."

{()}

Clank vented softly in exasperation as he finished tying off a makeshift tourniquet. "You have two broken fingers and have suffered a debilitating hairline fracture spanning several bones. So no, you will not be using your trigger finger for quite some time."

Ellen groaned in annoyance, her hand twitching with pain at the slightest movement. "What good am I going to be if I can't fight? Isn't there anything you can do to speed things up?"

The minute machine shook his head. "I am afraid not. Though I am not a medical professional by any means, the extra dose of Nanotech introduced into your bloodstream should sufficiently accelerate your natural healing capabilities by a factor of ten."

Shaking the rain off of his fur, Ratchet eased himself into the pilot's seat of their new ship with worry etched on his face. "So how long do ya think it'll take? I mean, sure I could do this on my own, but it wouldn't be the same without Ellen watching my back."

Clank rubbed his chin from where he was sat on Ellen's lap in the passenger seat, the now sealed canopy muting the storm outside. "Based upon what little I know of human physiology combined with your prior reactions to Nanotech, I would estimate between six and fourteen hours." Holding up a metal hand in forestalment, the little robot glanced across at the lombax seated beside him. "And yes, Ratchet, I have decoded the coordinates contained within the infobot you both provided, and have already input them in to the navigation array. Estimated travel time to planet Quartu at cruising speed is approximately eight hours."

Ratchet closed his mouth with an audible clack of teeth before turning a sympathetic look towards his significant other. "Sorry we couldn't get you to a proper hospital, babe. If we had more time..."

She smiled weakly back at him. "Can't be helped. There's a lot of people out there worse off than me right now, and at least I'll be better within a day. On Earth this kind of thing would take months to heal." As the lombax pilot finished the start up sequence and prepared to guide the prototype vessel out of the destroyed city for their next destination, Ellen couldn't help a chuckle of amusement escaping her lips. "You have to admit though, that was a pretty good shot all thoughts considering."

Ratchet grinned. "You got that right, one shot and _pow!_ The look on Qwark's face was priceless!"

They both laughed good naturedly, even Clank adding a titter of his own at the traitor's comeuppance as they finally cleared the atmosphere and the depths of space stretched before them. Making best speed towards their next destination, Ellen couldn't help but smile. Despite the dulled throbbing pain in her good hand and being out of action for lord knows how long, that one punch was _totally_ worth it.

* * *

**Phew, finally made it. Still not 100% on the end of this one, but I really wanted to give Ellen an excuse to give Qwark what he deserves. Other than that, I don****'****t think this chapter turned out too badly.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	20. Chapter 20: Mechs & Mayhem

**Author****'****s note:**

**Kind of on the late side again, sorry about that. Normally I have a chapter typed up, spell checked, and edited ready for posting first thing Sunday morning; unfortunately going away for a few days last weekend really threw a spanner in the works. Despite being difficult to write extensively for a level that****'****s over in under ten minutes, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter; especially Clank****'****s little rampage. Hopefully I****'****ll be back to my regularly scheduled updates as of next week.**

**Review replies:**

**destiny - Aw, thanks. Hope you like this one too.**

**Capser - I fully intend to write a sequel, though I kind of have to finish this one first. I****'****ve tried looking for your friend****'****s story and profile but couldn****'****t find any trace on the site under GentleDogDemon or Alleyne, which is a shame really because I would have quite liked to have a look at what she****'****s got so far. Maybe she changed her profile name? If you could either send me a link or let me know what the story****'****s called, I****'****d be grateful. Thanks again.**

**dablackwyrm - Glad you****'****re still liking this story so far. The bodies thing came about when I realised it was kind of weird that there weren****'****t any obvious casualties from the blarg attack as you would expect, though I guess that****'****s down to programming constraints of the early 2000****'****s and keeping the game more child friendly than anything else. You****'****re right about the drone device, don****'****t you just hate it when game design gives you items **_**after **_**you need them rather than when they were desperately needed? She****'****s definitely going to like Kalebo III when she sees it.**

**I have been thinking about adding a musical score, but have been a bit hesitant. Some stories I****'****ve read tend to have lyrics copied and pasted just to make up the word count, while others are written in such a way as to be intertwined with the story seamlessly and support the story. I****'****m nowhere near that good and the extra planning would probably slow down my weekly release schedule, though I might have a go in future stories.**

**A track listing at the beginning of each chapter sounds like a good idea, but probably one that won****'****t be implemented until I****'****ve finished this story and experimented a little. In the mean time I****'****d probably recommend playing the appropriate level music in the background if you can find it on you tube or somewhere. Of course if you have any suggestions for suitable tracks, I****'****d be more than happy to start going back over the story and putting in links where needed. **

**Sonachugirl - Bad day + miserable weather x lecherous former hero = one seriously pissed off Ellen. To be honest, I****'****d been looking for an excuse for her to hit Qwark for quite a while and this seemed like the best reason at the time considering their wildly differing personalities. Glad you liked her little rant, I felt Qwark pretty much got away with it at this point in the game and needed to be made responsible for his actions. Heh, I think everyone loves Nefarious since he****'****s such a great combination of maliciousness and silliness all rolled in to one. Thanks again.**

**Hello and welcome toGrimlockX4 for being the first and only reader to add this story to their favourites this week, and thus contributing to the ever growing number of people who continue to push me in to finishing this story. Thank you all once again.**

**If I****'****m going to get any better as a writer I need feedback, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Giant robots are a go, as is Chapter 20**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

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**Chapter 20: **

**Mechs &amp; Mayhem**

* * *

**Robot Plant, Quartu**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**7:38pm local time**

Despite the lifeless grey plateaus, equally dull rock formations, and sparse, hardy plant life, there was an ethereal sense of beauty and calm to the virtually barren planet. Perhaps it was the magnificence of the clear night sky; a large blue moon hanging low over the horizon in its ascendancy against a nebula of stars, tinted green by the contaminants pumped into the atmosphere by the massive factory complex and testing grounds occupying this particular enclosed valley on an otherwise dead world.

Ratchet set the ship down upon a small rise overlooking the facility entrance a short distance away before moving over to the passenger side to help Ellen disembark, while Clank made his own way down via Heli-Pack. Thankfully the nanites in the human's bloodstream were far more effective than anticipated, meaning that she could use her hand freely again. That said, the stiffness and flushes of pain that often accompanied movement of her affected appendage should she move her fingers too quickly would make combat a lot more difficult to the point where she would have to rely on Ratchet until properly healed.

Ellen glanced down at the tiny robot stood beside her, an odd expression etched upon his face. "Clank, you all right? You look a little... off."

He still seemed distant as his optics roved over the production plant no more than a few hundred feet away. "This facility and the surrounding area are... oddly familiar to me. I am almost positive that delivery chute over there is where I acquired the ship I piloted to Veldin shortly after onlining and discovering what Chairman Drek intended to do."

Both organics looked over at the large half-pipe leading from midway up the building down to a pair of basic landing pads, just to the right of the main entrance near a canyon wall jutting out to the far right of the facility, before the lombax turned back with a question on his lips. "So wait, you were born here? You must know how to get inside then!"

The minute machine shook his head slowly. "I am afraid not. I know nothing of the facility except for the production line from which I awoke and the subsequent tunnel leading to my escape."

Ellen patted him gently on the shoulder. "It's alright Clank, we'll find a way in somehow. In the mean time, lets take a look around."

Setting off at a light jog down the naturally formed stone bridge between the raised landing area and the plateau below in front of the factory, the team soon ran into the first of the roving mechanised patrols guarding the outside of the facility. A trio of robot sandshark drones were quickly cut down by rapid bursts of Ellen's Blaster, while Ratchet ran past to engage the much more dangerous looking foe stood guard outside of the bulkhead doors barring the facility entrance. The bulky, squarish, silver humanoid robot was big, nearly twice the lombax's size and built like a tank; its green optics flickering to red as it spotted his approach and held out an arm with the palm held vertically. Ratchet jinked to the left a split second before an explosive shell tore by his head to demolish a boulder behind him; changing to his Devastator even as he vaulted over a second deadly projectile to deliver a pair of rockets up close into the machine's chest.

"Damn that armour's thick," the lombax observed as he checked over the mostly intact robot, save for the prominent scorched crater in its torso. "Ya know Clank, he kinda reminds me of a bigger you."

Clank hummed thoughtfully. "This robot is the same model as the one I encountered during my escape from this facility; perhaps we are from the same production line."

Ellen jogged up to them with a slight grimace at her aching fingers as she held her machine pistol in her off hand. "Can't see any more patrols in the immediate area. Security's a bit lax for such a important place like this, isn't it?"

Ratchet nodded in agreement as he led them to the sealed bulkhead blocking their way inside. "Maybe, but I'm not complaining. Let's see what they're hiding in here."

The doors parted automatically as they approached, but the translucent force field made up of what looked like hundreds of dancing fireflies immediately in front squashed any plans for walking straight in. That, and another one of those large silver robots posted as a sentry spotted them and went for an alarm button on a nearby pedestal. Red flashing lights and klaxons were the order of the day as Ratchet and Ellen hightailed it halfway back to the ship before ducking behind a large rock formation to escape any search parties that would inevitably be sent their way. Five minutes later they were still waiting, the lack of any response bar the bulkhead resealing with an echoing thud of metal on metal.

"I don't get it. We've got to be top of the blarg's shit list right now, and they don't send _anyone_ to look after we try to walk into one of their most important factories through the front door? Just how _stupid_ are they?"

Rising from his crouching position, Ratchet waved Ellen to follow after him as he replied. "With things as bad as they are, I'll take dumb bad guys over smart ones any day. C'mon, lets see if we can find another way in."

To the far left of the facility was a sturdily constructed metal bridge spanning the gap between the factory plateau and a large circular structure made up of predominantly rust-red walls and towers, built upon a raised rock formation set in the middle of the deep gulley. On their approach, Ratchet and Ellen could clearly see a pair of the electric-spewing rolling robots they had previously battled in Oltanis' ruined streets waiting for them on the extensive span. Not taking any chances, the duo took cover behind several clustered boulders around the bridgehead before Ellen hurled a bomb at the closest enemy, only to see it fall short thanks to her hand acting up again. The mechanical guards instantly retaliated with arcing streams of condensed lightning sweeping across their natural barricade, one falling back to gain some distance while the other provided suppressing fire.

Having had enough, Ratchet rolled out of cover during a brief lull and ran for the opposite side of the bridgehead, loosing a couple of rockets that blew apart one robot while the other tried to draw a bead on him. With her partner holding the robot's attention, Ellen popped up once more to try a more direct approach with her Blaster; letting loose a hail of bullets that dented the remaining mechanised soldier's armoured hide before a few rounds finally penetrated and destroyed its inner workings. Regrouping, the pair set off at a light jog across the bridge only to find a good third missing from the middle; evidently retracted to stop them getting any further. Using a conveniently placed Versa-Target to swing across with Grapple Gun and Swingshot respectively soon put paid to that idea, the duo making a right angle turn to follow the wide obstacle-strewn platform around the sub-base's circumference.

"Finally, I was gettin' bored!"

Ratchet switched to his Pyrocitor as a half-dozen of the mechanical sandsharks charged straight for them, intending to save his more expensive Tesla Claw ammo for when he really needed it. With the lombax busy roasting the drones with swathes of flame, an otherwise unengaged Ellen was the first to notice a pair of the roller bots popping out of a hatch in the ground up ahead; using her Glove of Doom to toss a surprise package with gradually improving motor control of her injured hand to land at their metaphorical feet. A short bout of cackling and explosions later and both robots were little more than scrap metal; though one of the little kamikaze drones was still active interestingly enough, and proceeded to follow Ellen around like a loyal, albeit homicidal puppy.

Passing through a gap between some sort of generator and a thick set of piping, Ratchet and Ellen proceeded to make their way through narrowing chokepoints around the circular structure with caution on their side and an unexpected tagalong keeping pace with whirring servos. The human managed to put down a few more of the sandshark-inspired drones with steadily improving aim before her lombax companion burned through the rest of the attacking wave with his flamethrower. Slightly annoyed that he was leaving so little for her to shoot at, Ellen stepped up the pace as she followed around a wall of induction pipes and the attached observation tower placed in their path to see another hatch spring open, revealing five more lightning-shooting combat robots moving into position.

Before either organic could bring their weapons to bear however, Ellen's little helper sprung forward like a miniature pit bull to latch onto the closest machine targeting its mistress before violently self-destructing. With no time to lament the loss of her 'pet', the redhead and her lombax partner kept up the pressure on their numerically superior foe; taking advantage of the fact that they were set upon moving into pre-programmed firing positions rather than standing and fighting where they were. Ratchet broke out the Tesla Claw to shoot a pair of electrically charged bolts into the back of one of the temporarily retreating machines, the arcing artificial lightning connecting with another nearby and damaging it enough for Ellen to finish off with a thrown bomb to the torso.

By now the last two robots had realised their folly and spun around; weapons crackling with static charge as they prepared to let loose at the intruders. A volley of bullets and bombs smashed one apart, but the team were forced into the cover of a large pair of pipes hugging the inner facility's wall as the sole surviving roller bot sent a stream of electricity their way, and it wasn't alone. Another pair of the same model combat robots stood ahead of them and to their right, lying in ambush; the three working in concert to lay down a localised ozone-burning lightning storm at the narrowed chokepoint of piping that kept the pair suppressed and unable to respond in kind.

Fortunately it also flash fried a majority of the gathered sandshark drones in the area once they tried to charge the intruders; the remnants content to hang back and let their larger comrades do all the heavy work. In their haste to kill the organics however, the mechanised guards neglected to take into account the fact that attacking simultaneously also meant cooling down their weapons at the same time too; an oversight that Ratchet and Ellen wasted no time in exploiting to its fullest.

The surviving robot from earlier caught a rocket to the chest at close range before the human and lombax fanned out to unleash a little retaliation of their own. Ellen shot one of the few remaining drones point blank with her machine pistol a heartbeat before pivoting to jam her Versa blade into another trying to blindside her; dodging a bolt of electricity sent her way by jinking to the side with not a moment to spare. Ratchet meanwhile had bull-rushed the closest enemy and, in a repeat of his actions on Oltanis, leapt astride the swaying machine like a bucking bronco; trying to cave its head in with his wrench while keeping its grasping claws away from shocking him.

Running to escape a sweeping beam of arc lightning, Ellen feinted back on herself while swiping away another combat drone with her knife and delivering a bomb up close that staggered the mechanical soldier targeting her, only to see it convulse with electricity before finally keeling over. Ratchet waved merrily to her with his Tesla Claw from astride the shoulders of the only robot still standing, though considering its head was a crumpled mess that wasn't for much longer; toppling backwards as the lombax frontflipped off to land with both hands raised in a flourish.

The door embedded into the wall immediately in front was sealed tight with an electronic lock that even Clank's new and improved hacking programme couldn't begin to crack. That left an open doorway into a reinforced storage bunker attached to, but isolated from, the main building as their only available route; one that unsurprisingly had a contingent of sandshark-like drones in addition to the haphazard mess of crates stacked against the far wall. Once the nuisances had been bludgeoned, shot, stabbed, and generally made no longer functional, the duo made their way through an open doorframe to the right of the entrance and incidentally ran into the first, and so far only, living sapient being they had encountered on this planet.

"Hmmm... was it Pi over Infinity or..."

Seeing someone stood deep in thought while staring at a large circular pad with a smaller luminous-yellow circle set in to the middle, Ratchet called out to the lab coat-wearing man. "Hey! You need help fixing that thing?"

The scientist - for what else could he be with clothing like that - was a unusually tall member of Fred's cat-like species that stood an inch taller than Ellen. What surprised her the most though, other than the lilting Irish accent, was the fact that with the thick black-rimmed glasses and beard he reminded her of a light-furred, ginger-haired Gordon Freeman minus the HEV suit. "Actually, I'm trying to destroy it."

Clank tilted his head in puzzlement at the man's statement. "Why?"

The bespectacled boffin adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "I was contracted to re-engineer my enlarging machine to create huge, heavily armed mechs."

Ratchet's eyes lit up with realisation. "So _that's_ where those mechs came from!"

The Scientist gestured animatedly as he replied. "Precisely! Had I known Drek was behind this, I never would have done it."

Ellen raised a brow as she crossed her arms. "And it didn't occur to you that a blarg facility, on an isolated planet in the middle of nowhere, wanting to make giant battling robots might be a _tinsy_ bit suspicious?" When the ginger egg-head didn't answer and merely shifted awkwardly, she pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "Well I suppose we can't change what's already happened, only what will. Is there anything we can do?"

Perking up, the scientist rubbed his chin in thought. "Well... If your little friend here would volunteer to be enlarged, you may be able to stop those mechs long enough for me to sabotage this machine."

Clank hesitantly raised a metal digit. "And then you will change me back afterwards?"

The machine's inventor opened and closed his mouth a few times before deigning a reply. "Hmm... I've never tried that, but in theory... yes."

Not exactly brimming with confidence, Ellen dropped down to one knee to clasp the little robot's shoulders while looking him in the optics. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to Clank. It might be permanent, and we can always find another way to stop those mechs."

Ratchet took a step towards them before giving his two bolts. "Yeah, but you gotta admit there's more than a few perks to being a super giant robot with laser guns for arms, and-"

The human shot him a look. "Ratchet, stop pressuring him."

Turning her gaze back towards Clank, she saw him nod with determination in his optics. "I will do it. These giant mechs are likely to prove far too much for either of you to engage directly, and should I be unable to revert back to my current state then I am prepared to face the consequences."

Ellen gave him one last look as she stood up and he moved to stand on the transformation platform. "Are you sure?"

Clank nodded with determination as the scientist started up the machine. "Positive."

Moving to stand beside his girl, Ratchet squeezed her hand reassuringly while giving his little metal friend a look of confidence. "Good luck buddy, see ya on the other side."

With a spark of electricity and a flash of light, the tiny robot suddenly expanded from the ground up in the blink of an eye; albeit in stages. His legs were the first to explode from his diminutive frame into a chunky and undoubtedly heavy bipedal pair, with low set ball joints for knees that looked like they could squash a tank with ease. Next, the torso spun around and filled out considerably to a gargantuan and heavily-plated version of itself; the previous vents and exposed joints covered up or disappeared under thick alloys for protection.

The arms were similarly larger and up-armoured compared to before considering the segmented, circular, dark-grey shoulder guards and the denser alloys protecting the forearms, terminating in tri-digited fists that could comfortably hold most sentient beings within their grip. The icing on the cake here though was the twin-linked, rapid fire rocket launchers the size of small howitzers mounted on each wrist, which frankly gave Ratchet a twinge of jealousy at the potential firepower his friend could wield. The last thing to change was Clank's head, which expanded proportionally to fit the now roughly twenty times taller robot, but otherwise remained identical to his normal self.

Both lombax and human goggled at the hulking mech standing where a frail-looking robot stood previously, though it was the latter who probably best vocalised how they felt right then. "Bugger me..."

Turning slowly on the spot to look down on his now dwarfed organic friends, Clank's slightly deeper voice resonated around the suddenly cramped enclosed area they were in. "I take it you approve of this form?"

Ratchet broke from his stupor to grin giddily. "_Approve?!_ That is the single most _awesome_ thing I've ever seen!"

Rumbling with brief laughter, Giant Clank turned back to his previous facing before crouching down as far as he could. "Please climb aboard, there should be hand holds with which you may maintain balance across the upper portion of my back."

Not needing to be told twice, the human and lombax vaulted up on to the back of the uber silver robot and secured themselves on a pair of grips situated between his shoulders before he stood upright once more. The very ground shook as a fully weaponized Clank took his first tentative steps, jostling the organics clinging to his back while a steel-plated left hook demolished the mass of generators and piping blocking his path. He came under attack almost immediately, a pair of roller bots unleashing streams of lightning that barely tickled as he slammed a fist into one before stomping the other underfoot.

An attack helicopter vectored from Giant Clank's left, peppering his armoured hide with machine gun fire that would have hit his friends had he not turned his bulk to block the bullets and unleash a barrage of his own. The chopper simply ceased to exist under the non-stop rocket fire that blanketed its airspace, before being swept across the assaulting combat robots below with similar results. Like a mechanised titan, Giant Clank ploughed through every obstacle in his path as he continued to advance back down the path the three had previously traversed around the central building's perimeter. Roller bots were crushed where they stood, swept away with a swung fist, or otherwise blown up along with every structure that stood in his way; blazing a path of destruction that had Ratchet shouting his joy over the din of explosions.

"Yeah! Go Clank! Teach 'em not to mess with us!"

Thrilled as she was with riding on her friend turned war machine, Ellen was far too busy concentrating on not falling off or getting shot at by the constant influx of choppers buzzing by to vocalise her own thoughts.

After the last wave of roller bots were thoroughly trashed, a gaggle of robot sandsharks made their last stand on the short strip of metal platform between them and the now open entrance to the inner circle near the bridgehead; something Giant Clank ignored completely as he flattened them with each earth-shaking stride. The interior of the circular structure was hollow; the rapidly sealing door turning the presumed testing grounds into a coliseum for a heavy metal showdown.

"Up there, Clank! Nail 'em!"

Boosting over the top of the arena wall on twin pillars of flame, one of the quad-armed bipedal battle mechs from the infobot commercial dropped in with enough force to dent the riveted metal flooring before fixing Giant Clank with its single red eye. With legs braced against the recoil, twin-linked rocket launchers pounded the silver robot's opponent mercilessly; tearing away limbs and chunks of armour until the mech's power core detonated spectacularly in a shower of rent metal and burning fuel lines.

A second and a third swooped in within seconds of each other; groups of attack helicopters providing interference for their larger ground-based allies as they moved into position. One of the Ultra Mechs hung back to make use of its shoulder-mounted cannon while the other attempted to flank the enlarged silver robot to engage up close. Taking a hit to the chest that staggered him, Giant Clank twisted to one side to avoid a second missile sent his way before retaliating with explosive rockets in kind; severely mangling the supporting mech but unable to finish it off due to its partner swinging its spiked mace arm in his face. Stepping back to avoid the blow, Giant Clank unleashed a solid right hook followed by a left; leaving his opponent stunned and reeling before finishing it off with an uppercut that launched the dented mech into a cluster of choppers, crushing three of them in the process while the remainder continued to blaze away ineffectively.

Three more Ultra Mechs boosted into the fray in a loose arrowhead formation, the steadily increasing waves evidently an attempt to wear the silver-armoured robot down. Not wishing to drag out this battle any longer than necessary, Giant Clank stomped forward to meet the enemy head on while channelling the extensive energy in his core into a one time use weapon. Motes of light seemed to gather around his chest plate, the surrounding area dulling grey before pulsing red as Giant Clank brought his hands up to contain the charge while warning his passengers.

"Ratchet, Ellen, cover your eyes!"

Unable to check if they had complied, the enlarged robot could hold on no longer. His arms sweeping back as a glowing blue ball of pure energy shot forth towards the centre-most mech, detonating in an atomic energy blast that engulfed its flanking wingmen in a chain reaction of internal detonations that practically vaporised them where they stood, along with any helos unfortunate enough to be within the blast radius.

Another four mechs touched down one after the other; two standing overwatch on the walls while the remaining pair dropped in at knife fight range to pummel the besieged silver robot. Giant Clank was caught off guard by the mace arm slamming into his frame, but was quick enough to latch on with one hand while the other pounded the offending mech repetitively in the face until it went limp. Unfortunately the others weren't in a waiting mood and continued to fire their shoulder cannons from afar while the other close range attacker tried its luck.

Pivoting on one leg, Giant Clank tackled the machine with his right shoulder and used it as a shield from the supporting mechs on the walls; his left arm-mounted launcher targeting one of the shooters and the right jammed into his reeling foe with both firing full auto. Ratchet managed to get a few pot shots off at the buzzing choppers with his Devastator while Ellen made do with her Blaster as their big metal friend finished off the last mech, but couldn't do anything against the largest wave of oversized machines yet.

Now there were five attacking in concert, trying to crush the beleaguered silver robot with sheer numbers. Rockets were already in the air as the first three landed on the walls in sync before deploying their shoulder cannons, the one stood in the middle within the shadow of a tower taking a punishing volley that sent the broken wreck toppling to the ground below. Missile fire had the enlarged robot on the defensive as he struggled to counter, another two boosting into close range to bring their melee weapons to bear and box him into a corner.

Pushing off the wall with fists swinging, he doubled a mech up with a punch to the gut before bringing his fists together over his head and burying the mech's head in the ground. His outer plating bent and blackened by the sustained assault, Giant Clank managed a much weaker atomic energy blast that shredded two more machines. But with his energy reserves flagging, he knew he had to end this quickly; sustained rocket fire tearing apart one of the wall-mounted shooters and leaving but a single Ultra Mech to face one on one.

Hunching down slightly, the Ultra mech disengaged its cannon before leaping forth with leg-mounted boosters to get up close and personal. Giant Clank easily stepped back out the way of the predicted mace strike, but didn't register the grasping claws wrenching his arm to one side until it was too late. Managing to tear off the deploying shoulder cannon with his free arm before it could warm up again, Giant Clank threw a straight punch to the jaw that staggered the cycloptic machine and bought the time to grasp it by the throat; briefly lifting it off the deck before choke slamming it into the metal-plated deck. A pulled kick prevented him from getting in close to finish it off, unbalancing the silver robot long enough for the damaged mech to stagger to its feet and take up a fighting stance once more.

Waiting for his opponent to telegraph its next move, Giant Clank side-stepped the mace arm thrust at him before grabbing it with both hands; using it as leverage to lift the mech off its feet and throw it bodily against the arena wall. Not giving the sparking Ultra mech a chance to get back up again, the silver-coloured behemoth pumped a salvo of rockets into the cycloptic yellow-armoured machine until there was nothing left but scrap metal. With no more mechs left to fight and the attacking helicopters gone, Giant Clank strode out of the testing grounds back along the trail of carnage he had caused towards the enlarging pad, and the waiting scientist at the far end.

{()}

"Well done! Now just step on to the machine and we'll see what happens." Ratchet and Ellen stood off to one side as their oversized metal friend did so with earth-shaking steps. Standing on the platform, the giant robot shrank down in a mirror image of the original sequence until a regular-sized Clank stood inspecting his body for any anomalies.

"Nice to have you back, I guess. Just wish you coulda kept all that firepower."

Ellen nudged the lombax in the ribs with a frown on her face. "Hey, he wouldn't be the Clank we know if he did. Besides, how'd we ever fit him inside the ship?"

Ratchet shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you got a point."

The ginger-haired scientist continued to address Clank as he made his way back to his friend's side. "I recalibrated the controls to allow only your specific circuit pattern."

The small robot smiled up at the bespectacled boffin as he replied. "Excellent. With your modifications, the blarg will no longer be able to produce any more of those mechs."

The scientist positively exuded relief. "I don't know how to thank you three. Maybe this'll help."

Producing an infobot from his pocket, the bearded boffin turned to walk away as the team switched their focus to the advert that started playing on the hovering mini robot's screen. "New! New! New! From Gadgetron, the makers of weapons and other fine products, comes the _Hologuise!_" As the announcer continued his spiel, the view changed to a video showing one of Fred's species being menaced by a pair of sentry bots against the backdrop of futuristic steel and glass cityscape. "With the Hologuise, you can fool robots into thinking _you're_ one of _them!_" With a press of the big red button on the remote control device in his hand, the cat-like alien disappeared in a burst of blue light to be replaced with a dinky faux sentry bot of the same scale, much to the real robot's confusion.

A series of rapid slides showed somewhat mundane examples of what the gadget could be used for. "Match your wits against other robots!" A still image showed a Hologuised robot and a sentry bot playing Chess. "Work on robotic assembly lines!" Several disguised 'robots' hefted oversized cogs together. "Attend robot parties!" A mixed group of real robots and fakes were shown dancing and conversing in a well lit room. "The Hologuise; available only at Gadgetron Headquarters for a limited time!" The video returned to the disguised 'robot' as he deactivated the Hologuise and changed back into his original, stunted feline form. Unfortunately the flanking sentry bots had noticed as well, and one lifted his foot up to squash the now cowering scientist as the announcer wrapped up. "Not to be used for illegal purposes. Wear only in sanctioned areas. You will not actually become a robot."

"If we can get our hands on that thing, we'll be able to get past those robot guards!"

Clank however was not as convinced as his excitable lombax friend. "Robots are not so easily fooled."

Eyes widening, Ratchet pointed behind the minute machine with a cry of alarm. "_Aaah!_ What's that?!"

"Where?!"

The little robot's head whipped around as Ellen drew her machine pistol in response to point at the threat, only for both to find... absolutely nothing waiting for them. After a few moments of silence, the two slowly turned around almost in sync to face the smug looking lombax with his hands set on his hips. "Not easily fooled, huh?"

Clank scowled indignantly, while Ellen gave the lombax a disapproving look before striding past him. "_Really?_"

Ratchet threw up his hands in a combination of surprise and placation. "What? Aw, come on, you gotta admit that was funny. Ellen? Hey babe, wait up!"

The journey back to the ship was mostly filled with the lombax's ramblings that were part apology, part justification for his juvenile prank in the middle of a battle zone. Ellen wasn't really all that worried by his little joke, but that didn't mean she couldn't get her own back by making him squirm for a while through her lack of response. With the coordinates locked in, the prototype starfighter lifted off for Gadgetron headquarters and hopefully their ticket for infiltrating the robot plant. That is, if the blarg hadn't gotten there first...

* * *

**Sorry if there****'****s any glaring grammatical errors, I just didn****'****t want to leave you all hanging any longer than necessary. Hopefully the next chapter will be right on time.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	21. Chapter 21: Gadgetron & Gizmos

**Author****'****s note:**

**Sorry for the delay again everyone. This chapter took a lot longer than I anticipated to bring to a close, mainly down to it being incredibly hard to write the hoverboard racing part in a way that isn****'****t mechanical and boring. Still, I preserved and hopefully the end result will live up to your expectations despite having to rush a little in order to finish on time.**

**Review replies:**

**GrimlockX4 - That****'****s alright, I like to mention everyone who favourites and follows as a sign of my appreciation for supporting my story since it is they along with the numerous reviews that keep me writing. Happy birthday by the way, I hope you enjoy the HD collection. I****'****m glad I could inspire a fellow author, can****'****t wait to see what you come up with in the future. Thanks again.**

**dablackwyrm - Hello again my consistently reviewing friend. I have to admit it would be interesting to see a DmC style game but with Insomniac****'****s penchant for weird and wonderfully over the top weapons thrown in to the mix. Fuse doesn****'****t really count seeing as it plays more like a traditional third person shooter, though the unique weapons and close combat takedowns could make it a contender if Insomniac ever get round to making a sequel (fingers crossed). I****'****ve tried to give the two leads distinct fighting styles that compliment each other; Ellen****'****s long range and precision and Ratchet****'****s up close and personal brand of flamboyancy based on the way I tend to play.**

**Thanks for the reassurance, though I figure I wasn****'****t being punctual in both senses of the word considering how late I was updating. I looked up ****'****as you wish****'**** from the Mother 3 OST and can see it suiting Ratchet and Ellen****'****s little break on Pokitaru quite well. Taking your advice to heart, I eventually plan on having a variety of tracks taken from a broad spectrum of media to suit each individual chapter, though not until this story is truly finished seeing as time is at a premium for me right now.**

**It****'****s almost become a cliché of game design to give you the item that would have made life easier after you need it; probably to make subsequent replays easier, but surely you****'****d want more of a challenge not less? I have in fact played and completed all of the Ratchet and Clank games to date except for All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault (Q-Force for PAL release) which is on my to do list. You might have noted some hints in earlier chapters of Ratchet considering his existence, something I personally think would be on his mind instead of waiting till Tools of Destruction to explore his origins. You****'****re right though, If I ever decide to write for the PS3 games then that****'****ll definitely be an underlying plot thread.**

**Capser - Sorry to keep you waiting. I****'****m afraid I still can****'****t find any sign on of your friend****'****s profile or story, despite checking the search bar and combing through the story achieve manually. You mentioned her story is on ****'****.com****'**** in your review, so I****'****m guessing it may not be on this site. I****'****d still like to read what she****'****s posted so far, so if you could include either a web address for the site it****'****s posted on, a pasted link, or a story name I can search for in a review or PM then I****'****d appreciate it very much. Thank you once again.**

**destiny - Glad you approve, hope this one lives up to your expectations too.**

**Sonachugirl - Giant Clank is a bit of an oddity. In the first two games Clank needs an enlarging machine in order to change in to his hulking alter ego, but in the third he is clearly seen transforming between the two states in Holostar studios at will without any assistance. There doesn****'****t seem to be any explanation as to why he couldn****'****t do the same in the following games, though I suspect it might have something to do with preventing Clank going on a rampage when our heroes are ****'****guests****'**** of Gleeman Vox during the events of Ratchet: Gladiator/Deadlocked. Perhaps the circuitry giving him the ability was removed?**

**Have to agree with you, drek's robots aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the draw; the cardboard box trick from MGS should work a charm on them. Actually, that'd be pretty funny to see… To be honest, if the game made them half smart then the entire factory level would be ridiculously difficult considering the lack of places to run to or hide. Ah, game logic; don't you just love it? Anyway, nice to hear from you again. Take care.**

**A big thank you to GoldenLombaxGirl and Kairi671 for adding this story to their favourites and follows, not forgetting the rest of you wonderful people who collectively keep me writing this story little by little every day.**

**If the story has gone off on a tangent I****'****d rather you let me know than not, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**If you****'****ll excuse me, I need to go down a gallon of coffee to wake me up. In the meantime, here****'****s Chapter 21**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 21: **

**Gadgetron &amp; Gizmos**

* * *

**Gadgetron Site, Kalebo III**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**10:15am local time**

If the city of Metropolis on planet Kerwan was impressive, then the site of Gadgetron's main headquarters was something else altogether. The planet looked a lot like Earth from orbit bar the different continents, but the surface couldn't be any more different. passing over the predominantly green land masses, Ratchet piloted the stolen starfighter to the given coordinates just off the coast of the largest continent with increasing dubiousness. "Hey Clank, you sure these this is the right heading? All I see is ocean."

Ellen hummed in thought. "He does have a point, maybe the coordinates were off?"

Clank simply shook his head. "I am quite certain. With our current course and speed we should reach our destination in approximately 3.2 minutes."

Long seconds ticked by as they continued to fly over the crystal clear ocean through blue skies filled with fluffy white clouds, until finally, they saw it.

A series of large jagged peaks protruded from the sea in a roughly circular pattern of most likely artificial design, encircling what appeared to be a veritable city of green-tinged glass and gleaming steel standing proudly upon the ocean surface. Swarms of hover cars of all shapes and sizes from sleek single-seaters to family saloons flowed through the sky like vast shoals of fish in twisting invisible air lanes, while compact commuter trains ferried passengers to and fro on a rail network oddly similar to that on Oltanis.

Despite the vast size, it soon became clear as they closed in that this was corporate property due to the lack of street and living quarters, as well as the huge golden-coloured Gadgetron brand name orbiting around the tallest tower in ten foot high letters. It was a structural engineering feat beyond compare; the sheer amount of work that must have gone into the design and construction of such a mammoth undertaking left Ellen gaping in awe at the sheer opulent majesty of it all. Ratchet however seemed a little more nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Huh, guess you were right after all."

Finding an unoccupied landing pad on the outskirts of the facility, the lombax brought the ship into land and powered down the engines while Ellen drank in the scenery with more than a little sense of wonder. Her reverie was broken however as a hexagonal-shaped, black-painted dropship roared forth just over their heads on twin ion engines to hover over the artistically stylised meandering walkway connected to their landing pad a good hundred feet or so ahead; disgorging what looked like black-clothed soldiers with jetpacks before flying off again.

"What's the odds those guys are here to sell girl scout cookies door to door?"

Ellen snorted with mirth at the lombax's quip. "I'd say somewhere between 'slim' and 'no'. We'd better get tooled up, I doubt they'll let us pass without a fight."

A trip to a nearby vendor had their ammo reserves fully replenished, and so with weapons in hand the duo started to make their way from the landing pad to the facility entrance. The raised bridge come walkway they were traversing was more decorative than anything else, with glass dome-covered lights set in pedestals every dozen or so feet, along with the occasional larger version that seemed to act more like a small scale lighthouse for air traffic. Sections of escalator-like conveyors made of hard light occupied the centre of the walkway in spaced segments and seemed to change direction based upon which end was stood on first; acting as a high-tech counterpoint to the simplistic terracotta-style floor plating that made up the rest of the surface. It was on one of these escalators that Ratchet and Ellen were riding down a steady incline as the three soldiers from before became a lot clearer with each moment they drew nearer.

They were evidently blarg, judging by the skin tone from what little flesh wasn't covered up and their basic anatomy, but were neither of the two distinct types the duo had previously encountered. The soldiers were much larger than the regular blarg troopers, but nowhere near as bulky as the rocket launcher wielding heavies from Metropolis, and with their choice of attire they looked more like a special forces unit of some kind. Each wore a black, sleeveless composite vest with cyan trim, matching elbow-length gloves, nautic-green trousers, and a pair of black combat boots, as well as a black balaclava to obscure their faces. Equipment wise, they all wore a silver utility belt around the waist, along with a bulky twin-engine jetpack that allowed them to fly around freely as they did now, and what could charitably be called a pistol considering the blocky, silver gun held one handed was almost as big as the blarg's torso and likely packed a mean punch too.

Ellen opened up first with her machine pistol over Ratchet's head, several rounds connecting with one of the blarg's jetpacks and sending him into an uncontrolled spin to the waters below. Alerted by the sound of gunfire, the remaining two spec ops quickly homed in on the duo and sent a series of rapid shots their way; the lack of available cover forcing them to stay mobile as they used what little room there was to split apart and evade.

Leaping over another volley of rounds sent his way, Ratchet sprinted towards the nearest foe with his wrench in hand, only to find that the blarg was easily able to hover back out of range with his jetpack flaring while keeping the lombax within his sights. Of course he probably didn't take Clank having a Thruster Pack upgrade into account, nor the fact that Ratchet was perfectly happy to make use of it to introduce an Omni-Wrench to his face as it knocked him flying back into one of the larger light fixtures and left him slumped on the ground unconscious.

The last member of the blarg squad had taken to constantly strafing while taking pot shots, making Ellen's life that bit more difficult as her rounds continued to miss by inches with each burst. Unfortunately one such volley sailed past its intended target and struck something round and metallic a little further along the narrow walkway ahead, and before she knew it a contingent of bomb ball drones were swarming forth to ruin their day. Thankfully the redhead was saved from having to back-pedal any further by a localised discharge of artificial lightning that arced between the clustered machines, and even managed to catch the blarg elite unaware in a storm of electricity that fried everything it touched.

Turning away from the still sparking bodies, Ellen raised a brow at the Tesla Claw toting lombax stood beside her. "And you didn't do that in the first place because...?"

Ratchet scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Heh, kinda forgot I had this for a second there. 'Sides, don't wanna waste the good stuff when we're just getting started, right? Who knows what else we'll run in to."

"Fair enough."

Moving to cross the the narrow Jetsons inspired conveyor belt-bridge leading to the headquarters' main entrance, both lombax and human halted as another angular dropship flew in to drop troops on the other side of the bridgehead in order to cut them off. Not willing to give them a chance, Ellen hefted her Visibomb Gun and sent a TV guided missile straight at the stationary transport just as its first few passengers disembarked and used their jetpacks to fly deeper into the facility. Their friends however weren't so lucky seeing as the missile impact struck amidships; blowing the blarg craft and its remaining occupants to pieces. With the immediate area clear, the team quickly crossed the rolling escalator-like bridge to the far side and, after hitting a large button that disabled the force field blocking their way, stepped through the grandiose archway into the minimalist surroundings of the building's main lobby.

Potted palms lined the perimeter of the cylindrical chamber, the walls made up of glass panels held in place by a steel framework set in an isometric pattern stretching to the high ceiling above, while a solitary Gadgetron vendor sat in the centre of the terracotta-patterned floor. Aside from the way they had come in, there were three other archways branching off to other areas that formed a rough Y-shaped pattern when viewed from above. One blocked by a force field, another leading to an elevator marked 'transit hub', and the last leading back outside to a walkway that hugged the main building directly to the right of the entrance, upon which a pack of sandshark drones milled about aimlessly.

"We should probably clear out the ground floor first, then see about that blocked door. Someone around here must know where we can get our hands on a Hologuise, assuming the blarg haven't got to them first that is."

Ratchet grinned at Ellen's words while hefting his flamethrower. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do this."

Taking the right hand archway, the lombax's Pyrocitor blazed a trail through the sandshark-inspired skirmishers waiting outside without breaking his stride; Ellen close on his heels as they turned left at the end of the walkway to enter the facility's interior. Advancing down the surprisingly deep and narrow corridor, the human couldn't help the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that things were a little too easy as they stepped into a wider room lined with scorched, steel-plated flooring and numerous thick doors emblazoned with the Gadgetron logo lining the walls. Before she could voice her concerns however, sturdy armoured glass bulkheads slid into place and blocked both the exit archway as well as the way they had come in.

"Well that can't be good."

The lombax was proven right as the surrounding doors opened all at once to reveal what looked like futuristic crash test dummies behind each one. The head and torso were vaguely humanoid, with the archetypal black and yellow checked design set in a circle applied over the body and in place of the robot's eyes. A glowing blue ball similar to the roller bots previously encountered provided propulsion instead of legs, and the spindly arms with two fingers and a thumb on each hand were worryingly equipped with a fully functioning Bomb Glove.

"Um..."

Then they decided to attack en masse

The human and lombax were instantly put on the defensive as they desperately sought to evade the constant rain of explosives detonating around them. Thankfully these robot dummies appeared to be little more than pre-programmed shells with no sense of tactics or environmental awareness since they moved in a random, uncoordinated manner and didn't actively target the organics in the room. Decapitating one with his wrench as he ran past, Ratchet broke out his flamethrower once more to flambé the surprisingly fragile machines whenever they crossed his path, while Ellen made good use of her own Bomb Glove on any robots clustered together at every opportunity. For every dummy destroyed another would soon pop up from an opening doorway; but with the liberal use of dousing flames and high explosives the tide began to falter, until the last finally fell to a swipe from Ellen's Versa Blade that neatly bisected it.

Leaning against a wall, the human concentrated on getting her breath back before falling in behind Ratchet as he walked through the now open exit archway leading to the anti-gravity lift beyond. "What the hell was that all about? Weren't those Gadgetron robots back there?"

Clank hummed in thought at Ellen's question before deigning a response. "It would appear so. I can only assume they were reprogrammed to attack any intruders once the blarg made themselves known."

Ratchet glanced over his shoulder as they waited for the elevator platform to descend. "Then it's a good job they're kinda flimsy, otherwise we'd be in real trouble. C'mon, lets go."

A short ride later saw them deposited on a section of the rooftop surrounded by tall mesh fencing, just as another squad of spec ops jumped from a passing dropship with jetpacks flaring to block their advance. Hunkering down behind a nearby stack of shipping crates, the pair weathered the hail of fire sent their way in the relatively enclosed space before launching their own counterattack. Flipping sideways out of cover, Ratchet sent a bolt of lightning at the closest blarg with his Tesla Claw; shorting out his jetpack and dropping him to convulse on the floor before ducking behind some more crates on the opposite side to avoid the subsequent energy blasts perforating his hide.

With the lombax using himself as bait, Ellen took advantage of the distraction to drop another blarg elite with an extended burst from her blaster, only for the last squad member to boost forward with his gun blazing in an attempt to engage her up close. Not having any of that, Ratchet leapt up on to the crates he was sheltering behind before using them as a springboard to jump and tackle the charging spec ops soldier in mid-air; the momentum slamming them both into the mesh fencing and subsequently spinning out of control. The blarg flailed desperately with both arms to get the lombax off of his back, but Ratchet's grip was as solid as he was tenacious.

"This looks kinda important." So saying, the furry clinger-on ripped out one of the jetpack's hoses before releasing his hold and tumbling into a roll as soon as he hit the rooftop again. With the only thing keeping him aloft now unstable, the hooded elite went rocketeer as one of his pack's thrusters suddenly flared into life; sending him corkscrewing uncontrollably through the sky to who knows where.

Shaking her head in disbelief at the lombax's unorthodox tactic, Ellen moved up to stand beside him at a breach in the mesh fencing that overlooked a wide gap to the adjacent structure. Taking note of the active force field barring the way into the interior and the big red button just beside it midway up the wall, the human couldn't help but voice her question aloud. "Why the hell are the switches to turn off the barriers on the outside? Surely they're supposed to be on the inside for keeping people from entering in the first place, not the other way round."

Clank piped up from his position on his golden-furred friend's back. "I must admit, the security system does seem highly illogical. Though since they are on the exterior, it may well be an emergency override of sorts."

Ratchet shrugged in response. "No idea, but it sure as heck hasn't stopped the blarg from getting in. You wanna do the honours babe?"

A single aimed shot rang out from Ellen's Blaster to hit the big red button; deactivating the force field and allowing Ratchet to glide down through the gaping entrance slightly below their perch with Clank's Thruster Pack. Following shortly thereafter by using her Grapple Gun to reel herself in, the human immediately found upon landing that her beau was surrounded by bomb balls and desperately trying to fend them off with wild swings of his wrench. Wading into the fray, Ellen activated the advanced cutting feature on her Versa Blade and tried to clear a path to the besieged lombax; not willing to risk accidentally shooting him in the incredibly tight melee. With her actions taking some of the heat off his back, Ratchet smashed one exploding bot into a wall followed by swinging his wrench underarm to launch another at the ceiling above and out of the fight.

Sporting a few new scrapes and bruises from debris thrown about by the self-immolating robots, the victorious pair continued on through a familiar looking, long and narrow corridor to emerge into an identical room to the one with the Bomb Glove packing test dummies; right down to the scorched flooring, already sealed bulkheads, and multiple doors emitting a steady stream of metal cannon fodder.

"Oh, not this shit again."

Ratchet shared his girl's sentiment, but was slightly too busy to reply seeing as their opponents were all packing Wallopers and one was coming right at him with its gloved fist extended. Vaulting over the top, the lombax buried his wrench in the dummy's back before tossing a few bombs at a group clustered in one corner; however he soon changed course upon hearing a cry of pain coming from behind him.

Ellen had her hands full with the constantly moving test bots, Blaster spitting rapid bursts at anything that crossed her line of sight and not getting a moments respite. Because of this, she never saw the Walloper hit her in the side until it was too late; driving the air from her lungs and sending her sprawling against the far wall in an aching heap. Despite the fire burning through her ribs, the human managed to shake off the blurriness in her head and propped herself up against the wall with teeth grit against the pain. Clutching her side, Ellen continued to fire with wavering aim even as Ratchet carved a path directly to her side.

Standing defensively over her injured form, the lombax asked the stupidly obvious question. "Ellen! You alright? Where're you hit?"

Biting back a more sarcastic reply, Ellen rolled her eyes before a twinge of pain focused her on the here and now. "Pretty much around the big bloody spot, do you have any spare nanotech?"

Thankfully Clank did, passing a phial to her as their lombax friend continued to fend off any dummies that got too close with his Tesla Claw while the infusion took effect. Climbing unsteadily back to her feet, the redhead was soon slinging bombs in support of Ratchet as the nanites gradually worked to heal her wounds at an accelerated pace. Between the two of them the room was soon test bot free, and the pair made their way through the now open corridor on the opposite side of the room leading back outside.

A quick blast of artificial lightning arced between the sandshark drones waiting on the open plan observation deck courtesy of Ratchet's Tesla Claw, just as one of the blarg's hexagonal dropships flew past while dropping off a pair of jetpack wearing soldiers who soon turned their corridor shelter into a deathtrap. With no choice but to break out into the open, the pair split apart to make themselves harder to hit while striking back with their weapons of choice. Ellen's machine pistol spat rounds at the constantly moving blarg elite she was tracking while dodging his return fire as best she could, though she wished she had something with a bit more power considering how many bullets it took to punch through the resilient body armour he was wearing.

Ratchet on the other hand decided to go for something a bit more... explosive. Holstering his weapon, the lombax had a grin plastered on his face as he drew his Devastator and sighted it on the circling spec ops soldier before pulling the trigger; the rocket striking him square in the chest and detonating his jetpack before sending the body sprawling to the ocean depths below. Lowering his still smoking launcher, the lombax shrugged while thinking out loud. "Huh... thought it'd make a bigger mess than that."

Ellen turned a little green at the thought, especially of what it could do to her if she was hit, but swallowed down the rising bile in her throat as she moved to stand beside the lombax at the edge of the observation deck; overlooking a good fifteen foot gap between it and the walkway on the other side. Ratchet was easily able to boost across thanks to the Thruster Pack, but since he couldn't carry the extra weight, his human partner had to resort to using her Grapple Gun to tether to the edge of the platform before reeling herself in and clasping his outstretched arm in to haul herself up.

Moving along the stretch of walkway, the two soon ran into more bomb bots clustered in a circular section ahead that was fenced in with glass walls that soon reacted to their presence. Bolts of arcing electricity softened them up for either Ellen's bullets or a good swing of Ratchet's wrench; neither keen to have a repeat of the literal knife fight they previously had with the suicidal machines from earlier. Using a randomly placed Gadgetron vendor to top up their ammo reserves, the pair soon found themselves atop a raised platform off to one side facing back towards the main facility; a set of Versa-Targets giving them a much easier option to re-cross, though there was still quite a drop to what passed for the ground on the much lower far side.

Not fancying adding broken legs to her growing repertoire of injuries, Ellen opted for using her Grapple Gun to reach a balcony just across from their platform on the opposite side; picking off the mechanical sandsharks in the lower tiered area below from her vantage point before Ratchet could land there via his Swingshot. Dropping down to his level, the redhead rejoined her lombax companion as he threw his wrench at another override button set high up on the wall; deactivating another force field blocking the way forward way up near the ceiling. Latching on to the Versa-Target just inside the archway with their respective gadgets, the pair landed within a second of each other just as the fence crackled into life once again.

With their path of retreat cut off, a grind rail curving out into the open was their only option now. Ellen couldn't help but wonder just what kind of nut job designed this place as she latched on to Ratchet once again; making sure she didn't jostle Clank as the lombax hopped up on to the vaguely question mark-shaped rail and rode it until it terminated above an observation deck big enough to land a half-dozen fighter-sized ships. Sandshark drones were waiting for them of course, but by now they were little more than a nuisance for the increasingly battle-hardened team that barely warranted more than a single bullet or swipe of a melee weapon. With their landing point clear, the human and lombax experienced another case of déjà vu as they moved back indoors; armoured glass bulkheads sliding into place to prevent their escape while dozens of thick metal doors emblazoned with the Gadgetron logo opened to reveal even more test robots, this time wielding Pyrocitors.

Joy.

More than a little fed up at the persistently homicidal dummies, Ratchet broke out his Tesla Claw and went to town on the fire-spewing machines. Electricity arced between the test bots in the relatively confined space, shorting out large swathes only for more to take their place a few seconds later. Ellen used her Glove of Doom to bring a few exploding friends to the party before switching to the so far untested Drone Device; using expendable ball-shaped drones as a screen against the sweeping flames heading their way while snapping off staccato bursts from her machine pistol at any test bot that got close. Between the two organics' actions and the soulless mockeries of robots accidentally killing each other the chamber was soon clear; if you were to ignore the piles of mangled metal bodies strewn across it that is.

Exiting the deathtrap room to emerge out into more sunnily lit climes, the battle-weary pair soon found themselves on a wide platform linked to another via a thin bridge and confronted with the largest blarg contingent they had faced yet. A pack of charging sandshark drones immediately in front of them were blown apart by a few well placed bombs; Ratchet's wrench polishing off the remains even as another black-painted blarg dropship flew low overhead and dropped reinforcements to bolster the squad of spec ops already on the far side of the bridge. Bringing her Visibomb Gun to bear, Ellen carefully tracked the predominately hexagonal transport until it slowed down to deploy its troops; angling a guided missile up over the defenders to strike the dropship just as the last elite exited the cargo bay.

Shrapnel from the rapidly falling wreckage took out one of the blarg and gained the remainder's attention; a solid wall of energy bolts hammering the human and lombax's exposed position as the pair sought refuge behind a stack of discarded shipping crates. Pinned down behind their rapidly disintegrating cover, Ratchet blind fired over the top with his Devastator in an effort to buy them some breathing space. Though his rockets were wide of the mark, they provided enough of a distraction for Ellen to reactivate her Drone Device and make a run across the bridge with the surprised lombax catching up a few seconds later. Charging across the bridge, the redhead let the disposable silver ball-like machines orbiting her take the punishment; bomb balls guarding the span detonating harmlessly against her mobile shield even as incoming fire whittled it down.

With the ground based robots distracted by the human's spontaneous advance, Ratchet had free reign to continue launching rockets at the hovering elite troops as the gap between the two sides closed rapidly; direct hits dropping two just as Ellen's impromptu shield inevitably fell apart. Finding more shipping crates to duck behind, the redhead could finally bring her own weapons to bear on the blarg soldiers as she and the lombax caught them in a deadly crossfire; their airborne advantage rendered moot since they were now exposed to a withering hail of bullets combined with streams of electricity that shorted out their equipment and left them convulsing on the decking below.

With the blarg force wiped out, Ellen breathed a sigh of relief as the constant stream of adrenaline in her bloodstream began to ebb, before following her golden-furred partner in leaping across a gap between their platform and an elongated observation deck backing onto what looked like a large hanger. Making their way to the large armoured-glass doors at the far end, Ratchet motioned for her to stop as he eyed the now familiar rows of thick-plated doors lining the walls from one end to the other. "you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The human nodded in agreement. "You mean that this is yet another ambush waiting to happen? Yeah, I do, and it's getting old fast."

Equipping her Glove of Doom, Ellen swung her arm back and bowled the dispensed silver metal egg across the mixture of faux terracotta and metal flooring into the hanger interior. No sooner had the canister cleared the threshold when all the doors opened at once; dozens of test bots packing a broad mixture of Bomb Gloves, Wallopers, and Pyrocitors swarming out into what was fast becoming a veritable maelstrom. The lombax and human simply hung back and watched the show; the armed dummies combined with Ellen's recently deployed little helpers tearing each other apart in a chaotic brawl punctuated by fire, explosions, and mangled body parts raining down all over the place. A few minutes of mayhem later and only a few heavily maimed test bots were still functioning; Ratchet and Ellen putting them out of their misery before making their way to the now oddly open glass doors and the archway beyond them.

A few twists and turns later amongst the minimalist decor of the building's interior saw them at the threshold of a half moon-shaped open plan office, the rounded walls consisting of glass panelling that gave a panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding island chain. Leafy palms and exotic plants grew in a green belt ringing the perimeter of the mostly furniture free room, the sole occupant gazing outside without a hint of worrying about the conflict playing out just beyond these walls.

Approaching the distinctly male figure, Ratchet raised a finger hesitantly. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you were... _concerned_ about the... uh... invasion?"

Ellen honestly wasn't sure what species the alien was as he turned around; there was a vague resemblance to a squat novalian, yet somehow almost toad-like considering his facial structure and faded reptilian, nautic-green skin. He wore a heavily padded, dull brown suit that looked like it was designed more for practicality rather than aesthetics, with a pair of thick black-framed glasses perched below an equally thick set of bushy white eyebrows that matched the coarse goatee on his chin. "Son, our defences are the best money can buy. Don't give it a another thought!"

Taking into account the opulent office space and the elderly man's distinct tone of voice, it would seem that this was in fact the CEO of Gadgetron. Considering what they'd just been through, Ellen wasn't exactly overwhelmed. "If you're talking about the tin cans and the crappy force fields, then it's a small miracle the blarg haven't already razed this placed. I mean, no offence, but there's only three of us and we pretty much blew through everything with barely a scratch."

The boss of Gadgetron shot the human a condescending look. "Those were just test bots, missy. The _real_ defences are hidden until they're most needed." He turned his attention back towards the athletic looking lombax with an appraising gleam in his eye that was part calculating, part childish glee. "Say, you ever been on a hoverboard?"

Almost preening, Ratchet pretended to think it over. "Yeah, once or twice."

The elder CEO grinned in anticipation. "Well, then have I got an offer for you! I am in search of a hip young star to represent my newest line of boards; someone the kids can look up to."

Chest puffed out, the lombax gestured self confidently. "Then _I_ am your _man!_"

The team tensed briefly as one of the previously homicidal dummies from earlier entered the room, but relaxed upon seeing that it was unarmed and apparently welded to a red-coloured Z-3000 model hoverboard. "If you can beat my test bots in a race, the job is yours! Just let me know when you're ready to go."

Taking the opportunity to upgrade his board before the race, Ratchet set to installing the Platinum Zoomerator with Clank assisting where he could, while Ellen questioned the toad-like alien. "So where exactly is the course for this race? The only thing around here besides those islands is the ocean, and I'm fairly certain hoverboards don't work on water."

He smiled knowingly at the redhead before beckoning her over to the wall-spanning glass tapestry depicting the outside world. "See those islands? Just watch this."

Pulling a remote control from his hip pocket, the head of Gadgetron pushed an innocuous looking button; Ellen's eyes widening slightly as she followed his gaze to what was happening in the middle distance. Slowly but surely the water level began to recede, draining evenly to reveal that the surrounding island peaks were in fact all physically connected together to form a giant artificial bowl in which the headquarters building and attached facilities were situated on raised struts. A good twenty feet below what would normally pass for sea level rose a twisting network of ramps, halfpipes, and winding track that made up an intricate looking race track that she just knew Ratchet would approve of.

"Okay, I admit, _that's _impressive. But why underwater? It must cost a fortune to keep a pump system like that working."

Gadgetron's top dog postured proudly. "In case you haven't noticed young 'un, money isn't exactly an issue around here. Besides keeping the place tidy, the filtration system regulating the water in this basin is a work of engineering made art."

He continued to explain that It was originally designed for a corporation on Aquatos. But when the deal fell through, he snapped it up at a cut price and used it in conjunction with a terraformer to create the basis for the site of Gadgetron's current headquarters. Admittedly, Ellen partially tuned him out after that in favour of drinking up the awe inspiring view outside; snapping back to reality once Ratchet announced he was done. Having finished his modifications and learned about the location of the new course, the lombax took a private elevator down to the starting grid while his human and robot companions remained behind to spectate on a series of holographic screens called up by the Solana galaxy's equivalent to Steve Jobs.

{()}

It quickly became apparent to Ratchet the second he shot off the starting grid that this race would be nothing like the one in Blackwater City. His opponents were insanely fast off the line, unsurprising considering they were emotionless drones rather than sentient beings, and even with the upgraded grav-drive he was barely able to keep up as he used a magna-strip to gain some speed while skimming past a short ramp and into the first corner. Clipping another magna-strip on the inside, the lombax boosted up a steadily inclining ramp that allowed him to pull off a series of front flips before gravity took its course; his board sparking on impact as it hit the track just in front of one of his rivals.

Hopping over a row of explosive crates blocking the way, Ratchet triggered a quick boost of speed from his reserve tank in order to clear the gap over the water between the abruptly ending, angled track he was on and the course beyond. One of the main advantages of the recently installed Platinum Zoomerator was that performing tricks while riding the board would convert the kinetic energy into fuel which could be used to gain a brief burst of acceleration; something that he planned to take full advantage of in this closely fought race.

Landing on the far side, Ratchet kept to the ground route of the two-tiered section as he rounded the corner onto a straightaway with support struts occupying the middle. Hitting every magna-strip in sight as he weaved through the thick pillars, the lombax managed to cut by the inside of another racer to bring himself up to 4th place; just as he hit the next bend leading onto a short stretch marred by various metal containers and explosive crates, flanked beforehand by a pair of long but stout ramps on either side of the track. Opting to charge up the middle, he bobbed and weaved between the potentially deadly obstacles while running over another magna-strip to keep his pace high; culminating in a shallow turn preceding a raised section of track that acted as a ramp with a decent run up beforehand.

Pulling off a few flips and grabs to generate some fuel, Ratchet managed to skip a chunk of the course as he hit the ground boosting once more. The track widened briefly ahead before being split by what looked like a generator plant of sorts into two very distinct paths. Hitting yet another magna-strip, the lombax opted to go left; having to deftly hop across to a broken off section of track set standing alone in the water and back on to the main course before he could tackle the banked curve leading back onto the start-finish straight. With his fuel tank supplemented by the track-wide section of magna-strips he'd just run over, Ratchet weaved through the trio of gates occupying the steeply angled turn that got in his way with inches to spare; not realising until he'd cleared the last that an alternate route branching off from the start line had just opened up ahead as the force field blocking it off dissipated.

Willing to take any advantage he could get, the lombax veered off to the right as he entered the second lap; passing through a short tunnel and gaining speed from a few rings of energy that acted in a similar manner to magna-strips before finding himself back on the main course and in 3rd place. Moving down the long straight, he again negotiated the row of explosive crates inexplicably blocking the course and the subsequent jump over the water immediately afterwards; skimming the magna-strip on the inside of the turn followed by taking the ramp leading to the upper tier of the extensive stretch. Nimbly jumping from section to section of the broken up, elevated track with feline agility, Ratchet battled to hold on to his position as he used a row of magna-strips to edge out his lower-riding rival before the upper route ran out at the apex of the next corner.

Back on the ground again, the lombax burned what reserve fuel he had stored to gain on the racer immediately in front; cutting the inside of the turn and tagging the magna-strip as he sped through the crate infested stretch for a second time by riding up the half-piping on the edge of the track. Running on empty, Ratchet used what little remained of his boost to gain some air on the following ramp with the decent straightaway before hand. An acrobatic display of graceful somersaults soon topped up part of his reserve tank, the subsequent magna-strip upon landing adding even more speed as he swerved down the right path of the split section of the course just ahead. Sheer velocity sent the lombax flying over a ramp to land just at the beginning of the banked curve section on the inside; never letting off the boost for a second while he hunched down in an effort to streamline himself further and gain even more speed.

Taking the short cut once again after weaving through the activation gates, Ratchet went all out in his effort to catch up to the race leader on this final lap. The rest of the course went by in a blur; muscle memory guiding the lombax in executing every jump and turn as he pushed himself and his board to the very limit. it wasn't until he'd reached the two-tiered straight section of the course once more however when he caught glimpse of something moving fast up ahead. Weaving between the support struts to clip the magna-strips nestled among them, Ratchet caught up on the following corner; following the test bot hoverboarder that was booking it through the minefield of regular and exploding crates dotting the stretch beyond within a hairs breadth of making contact. Tucking into his rival's slipstream once they had cleared the obstacles, the lombax inched closer on the approach to the big ramp leading to the final section of the course.

They hit the jump almost at the same time; the magna-strip he'd previous clipped just before take off giving Ratchet that extra boost he needed to pull alongside while dropping down to the course below. Both picked up speed from the magna-strip just in front of the course split, the lombax electing to head right again while the test bot took the left hand route. Unable to see how his rival was doing with the tall structure in-between their two paths, the seconds it took to clear the divided segment of the track seemed unnaturally long as he strived to maintain speed on the last turn coming up. A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye gave the lombax an idea of just how close the end result was going to be, taking the optimum angle into the turn with his boost on full even as his rival began to gain ground inch by inch.

Barely twenty feet to go and they were almost neck and neck with the finish line upon them any second. With a last ditch burst of speed, Ratchet willed the remnants of his spent reserve tank to give him the crucial trickle of power he needed; crossing the line bare inches ahead of the pursuing test bot rider and snatching a last second win. With adrenaline still pumping through his system, the lombax gave a yell of delight as he brought the speeding hoverboard to a skidding halt. Once again Ratchet had won by the skin of his teeth; and more importantly, he'd nailed the job offer and shown what an awesome boarder he was. Heck, if he played his cards right, then maybe he could blag any new hoverboards when they came out too...

{()}

"Nice going fuzz ball, bit close there at the end though."

Clank seemed to agree. "You succeeded despite the odds. However, I believe you might have achieved a more clear cut victory had you not been showboating quite so much."

Grinning in response, Ratchet pointed a thumb at himself cockily. "Hey, Hovercon intergalactic champion here, remember? I had it in the bag the whole time."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Sure you did, captain modesty."

The sound of hands clasping together loudly drew everyone's attention to the pleased looking Gadgetron CEO stood facing them with a twinkle in his eyes. "That was _terrific!_ Now, I just need you to say a few words about our hot new boards!"

Eyes widening in shock, the lombax's self assured confidence plummeted like a stone at the insinuation. "Huh? _Now?!_"

The toad-like company head chuckled good naturedly. "Of course! Just look into that camera right over there and say what comes naturally." Sure enough, there was a movie camera mounted on a tripod just off to one side and trained on the gathered team. How it got there when the office had previously been empty last time anyone had looked was a mystery that probably wouldn't be solved as Gadgetron's CEO made a circling gesture with one hand. "Rolling!"

Ellen had no inclination for having her face used for advertising, but stayed put in order to support the stuttering lombax with a soothing hand making discreet motions on his back while he tried to improvise badly. "Uh... hi? This is Ratchet for... uh... Gadgetron hoverboards. And if you... um..."

Apparently having had enough of seeing his friend's faltering attempt, Clank stepped in to try and salvage the situation. "Yo dudes. For the freshest boards in the galaxy, check out the new XZ88 from Gadgetron! So hot, it is cool!"

Equal parts annoyed and relieved at being upstaged and having the focus taken off of him, Ratchet shot his small metal friend a dirty look as the company head rubbed his chin with a sigh "I think I got the wrong guy. That was... uh... something..."

Seeing an opportunity and wanting to smooth over his embarrassing performance in front of the camera, the lombax decided to try his luck. "Hey, I was thinking... do we get a discount on gadgets now?"

The CEO mulled it over for a moment before trying to let him down gently. "Uh... you have to be with the company for two years before the employee discount kicks in. I _can_ however let you have _this._"

So saying, he produced a device from behind his back and tossed it to Ratchet, whose eyes lit up in recognition as he checked over the newly acquired Hologuise. "Sweet!"

Ellen gave the head of Gadgetron a smile as she steered the lombax out of the office. "Thank you for your time, sir, but I'm afraid we've got to get going."

The toad-like CEO waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, that's alright missy. I'm sure I can make something out of this." He patted the camera just as they crossed the door frame out of the office. "And remember; buy Gadgetron for all your consumer needs!"

Retracing their steps, the team managed to find an exit at the other end of the corridor that surprisingly led back to he lobby through the one archway that was previous barred by a force field. After restocking on ammo at the vendor, the human and lombax steadily made their way back to their ship while taking in the technological marvel that was Gadgetron headquarters. Much as Ellen would have loved to stay and explore some more, the three had prior business to attend to now they had the means to infiltrate the robot factory on Quartu. Settling back into the contoured seats of the prototype starfighter, Ratchet recalled the last used coordinates on the navigation computer and they were soon on their way once again. However, despite being one step closer to saving the galaxy from the blarg menace, the human couldn't help feel that the worst was yet to come.

* * *

**Getting close to the end now, and as of next chapter no more annoying backtracking. I****'****ll try to keep the next updates on schedule, but I might be a little delayed with all the crap I****'****m taking at work recently. Still, I****'****ll do what I can to keep things on track.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	22. Chapter 22: Disguises & Discovery

**Author****'****s note:**

**A bit short this time I****'****m afraid, but at least I managed to finish and have the chapter posted on time this week. This is partly down to me not wanting to drag the chapter out longer than necessary considering how annoying I found the second half of this split level to play, but also because writing for it was equally, if not more frustrating. There were honestly several points I just deleted everything and started again, but at least the end result came out better than I thought it would. On a much brighter note, I have fan art! Thanks go to Nekolover3 for her uncanny rendition of Ellen, which you can find on her Deviant Art profile under /art/Ellen-Time-Heals-All-character-487666601. After such a gloomy week, you have no idea how much that cheered me up. Thanks again!**

**Review replies:**

**Sonachugirl - Yep; Nanotech or not, she****'****s going to be feeling that for quite some time. It makes you wonder though, why the hell would you have a hoverboard race in the middle of a blarg attack in the first place? Surely Ratchet should have got given the Hologuise anyway for cleaning up the mess Gadgetron****'****s allegedly expensive defences couldn****'****t. Much as I****'****d love to put in the cardboard box trick, unfortunately I couldn****'****t find a way to make it fit this chapter. Doesn****'****t mean I can****'****t keep the idea for the future though****…**** Sorry to disappoint. Thanks again.**

**Guest - I hear you, that race irritated the hell out of me the first time round until I discovered the trick you mentioned. There****'****s actually a second short cut as well that you can see part of crossing over the top of the course in certain points, but I****'****m damned if I know how to get to it in the first place. With the sheer amount of bolts you can rack up on the mega challenge run, that RYNO 2 is as good as yours. Still don****'****t think it****'****s a patch on the original portable WMD though****…**** Thanks again, hope to hear from you soon.**

**dablackwyrm - The first game was definitely far from perfect, but with out it we may not have such a long running and thoroughly brilliant game series we know and love today. Though it****'****s not quite world building, I like to give a layman****'****s sense of the environment and how I envision the R&amp;C universe****'****s tech could work in a way that makes sense and doesn****'****t bore people to death . Didn****'****t quite realise how many jet pack related fatalities I****'****d written in to the chapter until you pointed it out; I was just trying for something a little more original at the time.**

**More than happy with your assistance in starting to put together a musical score.. Your suggestions so far have formed the basis for my own research in to what will work for the tone I want to set, though again I probably won****'****t implement anything until this story is properly finished. You guess right; I estimate around 3-4 chapters remaining, since I may have to split up Veldin if it gets too big plus an epilogue. Happily my current issues with work are going to be resolved soon due to a change in management, so I can worry more about doing my job and less about keeping it in the first place. Thank you once again for your support.**

**ReginaDC21 - Glad to hear you****'****re feeling a whole lot better. Don****'****t worry about not reviewing for a while, I****'****m just happy to hear from you again. Much as I****'****d like to give our heroes a break, they****'****re rapidly running out of time to stop Drek and things will only get more intense from here on as the story comes full circle. On the bright side, if you can****'****t remember all the details of the final confrontation then at least it****'****ll be a bit of a surprise once we get there. Definitely looking forward to continuing on with the sequels. Heh, I know what it****'****s like to combine burning the midnight oil with waking up for stupidly early morning work shifts. Hope you manage to get some decent rest soon, take care.**

**destiny - Watching Ratchet****'****s stage fright is priceless every time considering how cocky he usually is. Glad you liked the last chapter, and can only hope enjoy this one too despite the reduced length.**

**Nekolover3 - Well wait no more, for the next chapter is up and running. Thank you once again for taking the time to create fan art for this story, words can not express how appreciative I am.**

**Hello and thank you to Randall Boggs and Nekolover3 for adding this story to your favourites and, in the latter case, follows as well. Were it not for the collective motivation provided by all of you that make up my regular readership, then I would probably never have gotten this far.**

**I****'****m always happy to know what you think of my stories, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Considering how comparatively short it is, I****'****m surprised how long it****'****s taken me to finish Chapter 22. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 an is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 22: **

**Disguises &amp; Discovery**

* * *

**Robot Plant, Quartu**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**9:23pm local time**

Upon landing back on the dreary planet, Ratchet and Ellen quickly swept away the light screen of security drones and robots patrolling the perimeter of the massive factory complex; surprised but thankful that their previous destructive spree hadn't warranted any obvious additional defences. Getting close to the thick bulkhead that made up the facility's front doors, Ellen felt the need to voice the question that had been gnawing at her mind ever since they'd left Gadgetron headquarters.

"Ratchet... we've only got one Hologuise, right?"

He blinked as he held the device up for her to see. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

The human vented softly. "So how are we supposed to get all three of us inside undetected? It's not like that thing's got enough power to disguise you, me, and Clank at once."

Ratchet paused for several seconds, his jaw working up and down until he could enunciate his response. "Ah..."

His acute mind running through dozens of calculations and scenarios per second, Clank stood with metal digits cupping his chin as he eyed their recently acquired gadget. Ellen was correct; such a device would not generate nearly enough power to provide three separate disguises, let alone over a distance from the energy source. That said, what blueprints he could pull up from his databanks along with some educational guesses based upon the Gadgetron commercial suggested that the Hologuise bent light around the user to create the desired four dimensional camouflage, yet would be scaled down to account for the subject's stature. If this was correct, then the reverse must be true as well. All that would be required was a simple test to prove or indeed disprove his hypothesis. "Ratchet, Ellen, I believe I may have an idea..."

{()}

"This is ridiculous."

"Y'know, when you said you wanted to be on top, this _wasn't_ exactly what I had in mind..."

"Ratchet!"

"Hey, stop moving so much!"

"Ahem. Since we are approaching the door, might I suggest you cease talking lest we alert the guard on the other side."

"Exactly, so button it fuzz ball."

"Hey, you were talking too!"

And so it was that an oddly misshapen sentry bot swayed unsteadily in front of the bulkhead doors as they opened to reveal the expected force field and mechanised guard on the other side. Waving a hand at the gate keeper while trying to maintain balance, the strangely thin and top heavy robot got a response in kind before waddling drunkenly past the now deactivated barrier and the curious scrutiny of its fellow machine. Upon passing behind the sentry bot on duty's line of sight, light seemed to shimmer and fold upon itself for a heartbeat before revealing the visiting 'robot' to be a human perched on the shoulders of a lombax with a small robot attached to his back; the guard completely unsuspecting as a Versa Blade was jammed into the back of its head and severed all motor functions.

Once the body had clanged lifelessly to the stone floor, Ellen hopped down from her perch and checked to make sure the mechanical guard was permanently deactivated before returning to Ratchet's side. "Well, that went a lot better than expected. Still don't get how the guard didn't figure us out the second the door opened though."

Clank piped up from his position on the lombax's back. "From what behaviour we have witnessed so far, blarg military robots are intensely loyal but entirely unimaginative. It would appear that this model is no different, and just as inflexible when it comes to identifying potential intruders. As long as we appear remotely similar to their physical appearance, we should be able to infiltrate further without detection."

Ratchet stretched with a groan, feeling a few vertebrae pop in his back before he replied. "So what you're saying is that because they're looking for people that look like us, they won't suspect anyone that looks kinda like them?"

Clank nodded. "That is what I am proposing."

The lombax sighed. "Thought so, 'cos I don't think we're gonna be able to pull the same trick twice."

Following his gaze, Ellen took note of the fairly high ledge they would have to scale in order to continue past the entrance area, and the patrolling sentry bot tirelessly pacing back and forth up above. "You two'll have to do it yourselves while I hide out the way. Just give me a signal when it's all clear and I'll follow behind you."

With a nod, Ratchet waited for his quarry to turn away before boosting up to the area above and reactivating the Hologuise. A friendly wave discouraged the sentry bot from taking too close an interest in the sudden appearance of another robot as it turned to face the disguised lombax; waiting until the guard was furthest away from the alarm button in order to strike with his wrench from behind. "Alright, it's clear."

Ellen hauled herself up with the aid of her Grapple Gun, catching up to Ratchet as he hung from a ledge leading to a tall doorway into a large tower of sorts while peeking over the top. "What do you see?"

He shushed her as he ducked back down quickly. "Wait here a sec, there's one on the other side."

So saying, the lombax vaulted up once he thought it safe to do so and jumped on to the pedestal in what looked like a distillation tower of sorts considering the deep vat of green goop laying in the bottom. The Hologuise reactivated just as the sentry bot visible through the doorway on the far side spun on its heel and turned a suspicious gaze on the smaller robot who hadn't been there before. Realising just how exposed he was, Ratchet held his breath as he hesitantly waved at the large machine; a gesture returned in kind before the guard turned away to continue its patrol. Dropping the disguise, he easily cleared the gap between his platform and the relative safety of the other side, only for the noise of Clank's Thruster Pack to alert the bulky robot to his presence.

Before the lombax could reach for a weapon, the sentry bot had already covered the short distance needed to slam its fist down on the alarm button a few strides away; a wailing siren sounding as the pedestal sank into the ground while the top blossomed like a flower to form a flat turret. Speed and agility were the order of the day as Ratchet was forced to jump and flip away from multiple balls of energy sent his way, accompanied by the towering robot's own explosive shells that saturated the area in an attempt to exterminate the intruder. Salvation came in the form of a TV guided missile streaking from behind the furry acrobat, reducing the sentry bot to pieces and giving the lombax the breathing space he needed to get in close and disable the alarm with several overhead strikes of his wrench.

Having stowed her launcher, Ellen swung across with her Grapple Gun to join him shortly there after with concern etched on her face. "You alright, fuzz ball? Looking a little singed there."

Ratchet shook his head as he fell into step beside her. "Nah, I'm fine. Stupid robot saw me before I could disguise myself again."

The human exhaled in relief, but her eyes still carried a hint of worry as she replied. "Well that's a relief, but with that alarm going off they're bound to know we're here."

Choosing that moment to pipe up, Clank added his own two bolts from his position on the lombax's back. "Actually, that was merely a localised alarm system designed to alert nearby units and not linked to the rest of the facility. By isolating the frequency, I should be able to remotely delay or disable future activations indefinitely."

Ratchet grinned in anticipation. "So they probably don't know we're here, and you can stop 'em calling their buddies if they do?"

The minute robot backpack shrugged. "More or less. Though I would recommend against abusing such a notion unnecessarily."

Approaching another set of bulkhead doors just ahead, Ellen hid to one side while Ratchet reactivated the Hologuise and proceeded to waddle through in a manner that had the human snickering quietly since it made her partner look like he desperately needed to take a dump. Oblivious to her amusement, the disguised lombax found himself turning left on to a short conveyor belt that terminated in front of a large platform with two sentry bots patrolling in a circuit around the alarm pedestal in the middle, while a third paced back and forth on a raised walk way just above.

With no way to get close without dropping his disguise, Ratchet raised his arm carefully until he was able to open a link to Ellen's Wrist Com; keeping his voice down so that the silent sentries wouldn't hear him. "Babe, you there? I kinda need some help..."

After briefly relaying his situation, Ellen positioned herself on the edge of the door frame so that the lombax was in sight before re-equipping her Visibomb Gun and squeezing off a missile; the guided projectile skimming around the corner to hit the closest sentry bot square in the chest. The remaining two machines' optics burned red as their heads whipped around in an attempt to find the source of their friend's demise; one going for the alarm button only for Ratchet to drop his Hologuise and pump a pair of rockets in to its face. Before the last could bring its twin wrist blasters to bear on the revealed lombax, another missile struck the wall just behind its head; the force of the blast sending it toppling over the edge of the raised walkway and tumbling to the misty depths of the gorge below.

Reuniting on the large platform, the pair soon climbed the ladder leading up to the previously occupied walkway and then another immediately after; being halted by the heavy-duty metal fencing just above their heads, beyond which a trio of sentry bots could be seen on patrol. Gesturing with one hand to be quiet, Ratchet began to shimmy along the edge of the platform with legs dangling into thin air while Ellen followed suit just behind him.

The human could feel the blood drain from her increasingly heavy feeling arms, but kept moving hand over hand as they halted just shy of a twin conveyor system several feet higher still that sent luminous green, spiky objects held in metal casings tumbling past their heads at regular intervals. With careful timing, the pair shimmied across the hazardous stretch one after the other; pausing in the gap between the two belts to avoid the falling containers before moving past and hauling themselves back up on to a section not covered by fencing on the far side.

Massaging some life back into her limbs, Ellen kept to the shadows provided by the bulky machinery supporting the conveyor belts while Ratchet scouted ahead with his Hologuise active. Stepping between two inactive turrets, the lombax waved to gain the attention of one of the sentry bots on the other side of the force field before waddling through in an exaggeratedly robotic manner. Realising that there was no way to avoid an open confrontation, Ratchet dropped his disguise and struck hard with his Tesla Claw, spitting streams of crackling electricity into the nearest foe. However, his new favourite toy was not quite so effective on the alerted robots thanks to their denser armour; repeated lightning strikes managing to down one but unable to stop a second from triggering the alarm.

Ellen had already used her Glove of Doom to toss out some drone-shaped back up for the lombax the second he started shooting, ducking back behind her cover as an explosive projectile whizzed by her head courtesy of one of those Iron Man knock offs. Activating her Drone Device, she popped back up with her Blaster raised in time to see Ratchet performing a fluid ballet born of desperation; jumping, flipping, dodging, and weaving around the ever increasing number of energy balls and explosive shells sent his way while trying to find an opportunity to counter.

Thankfully Ellen's little helpers had shredded several of the squat turrets already and damaged another of the guard robots, allowing her to finish it off with an extended burst from her Blaster and easing the pressure on her besieged partner. Using the last robot as a shield against the remaining turrets, Ratchet let the bulky bullet sponge take the heat until he could get close enough to shut off the damn alarm and even the odds.

With nothing left to shoot at, the relieved pair climbed a nearby ladder and finally found themselves passing through a thick-plated blast door leading into the factory interior. Traversing the riveted metal flooring, the pair were forced to halt as the tunnel they were following suddenly ended in a death drop; suspended above a similarly constructed mid-sized platform a good twenty feet ahead and below them with an alarm switch situated on the far end. Both human and lombax crouched down on their perch as they watched a pair of sentry bots march in tandem out of a nearby rounded door decorated with hazard stripes to the end of the platform, before about facing and returning back the way they came. Waiting until the robots emerged from the room once again, Ellen carefully sighted on the guards and waited until they hit the apex of their stride before using her Visibomb Gun to steer a missile directly between them in order to take out both at once.

With the way clear, Ratchet used Clank's Thruster pack upgrade to slow his descent to the vacated platform while Ellen latched on to one of the steel cables hanging from the ceiling with her Grapple Gun in order to swing across. Now they were both on solid ground again, it became apparent that the factory itself consisted primarily of large ball-shaped modules suspended from the ceiling with thick industrial cables, and were linked by a series of umbilical tunnels and conveyor belts. The factory floor far below however was impossible to make out since it was flooded with the same dense green goop they had seen in the distillation tower outside, and gave off nauseous fumes that were potent enough to strip paint.

Curiosity piqued, the lombax and human stepped towards the automatically opening silver doors where the two sentry bots had previously emerged to find a fully functional, self-contained production plant. The purple torso of a large bipedal war machine that could give the Ultra Mech a run for its money was being held above an equally big pair of legs in the centre of the room; multiple robotic arms situated along the walls working on both halves, with claw hands manipulating wiring and blow torches welding parts into place. Clearly the blarg were intending on churning out bigger and more deadly robots, enough to make an army if the size of the factory was anything to go by.

"Ratchet, if they finish building these things..."

The lombax shook his head at Ellen's question. "Not gonna happen. There's gotta be a control room somewhere that'll allow us to shut the place down. C'mon, let's go before any more guards show up."

Exiting the miniature foundry, the pair hung a left and took a conveyor belt across to another set of hazard tape-lined silver doors, leading into another of the ball-shaped modular rooms. The surprised sentry bot inside received a pair of rockets to the chest for its troubles, unable to take a single step towards the alarm button before the human and lombax traipsed over the broken metal body to vault up to the umbilical-lined tunnel off to one side. Unfortunately the glorified corridor wasn't quite finished, seeing as most of the flooring consisted of a pair of randomly cycling small conveyor belts, mixed in with a single riveted-metal platform in the middle and plenty of opportunity to fall to your doom in the pit of green waste far below through the various wide gaps in-between. To make matters worse, there were three sentry bots patrolling the room on the far side; and with no available cover, they had a clear line of sight through the entire length of the tunnel.

Dropping back down, the pair paused to consider their next actions. With no way to sneak past the guards, and concealed turrets no doubt ready to activate at the slightest hint of trouble, their options were frankly limited. The solution they came up with would involve split-second timing and a lot of trust, but was the best idea they could come up with at such short notice. As soon as the sentry bots had faced away on the return leg of their patrol, Ratchet pulled himself up on to the first platform of the umbilical tunnel and donned his disguise. Waiting for the guards scrutiny to pass, he made a desperate scramble across the adjacent conveyor belt on to the central platform, before hurriedly reactivating the Hologuise just as the patrol turned back to face him.

Unable to advance any further without either the guards spotting him or getting shot at with the currently inactive security turrets, the disguised lombax stood with anticipation as his partner moved to enact her part in the plan. Steadying herself by shifting weight onto her back foot, Ellen raised her Visibomb Gun and waited for Ratchet to give her the ready sign. A pair of clicks sounded from her Wrist Com, and with careful deliberation the redhead angled her launcher so that the launched missile skimmed the top of the jutting platform they had previously climbed up; avoided hitting the ceiling as it levelled out to accelerate down the corridor. Narrowly passing over the Hologuise-using lombax, the guided missile flew straight between two of the robot guards as they marched side by side and dove into the third trailing behind on the far side of the circular room beyond.

With the remaining sentry bots focused on their downed comrade, Ratchet used the distraction to clear the following conveyor belt and land next to the alarm activation switch just behind them with his Devastator in hand and a grin on his face. "Hey fellas!"

Optics flashing red, the two robots turned around in unison with wrist-mounted weapons already charging, only for one to receive a trio of point blank shots from the lombax's rocket launcher and the other to disintegrate once another of Ellen's missiles struck it in the chest. Using her Grapple Gun on the light fixtures running along the top of the Umbilical tunnel to swing across, the human soon managed to catch up with Ratchet on the far side; navigating through the metal debris and mangled robot parts to stand beside him at the threshold of another set of hazard stripe-lined doors. Upon opening, the pair could see a wide platform further ahead on a level above them; connected to what looked like more of those sphere-shaped, self-contained production plant modules on either side. Unsurprisingly, a pair of sentry bots patrolled in a set pattern between the connected rooms, while another stood guard in the middle facing away.

Flattening themselves against opposite sides of the open doorway as the bulky robots' gaze swept briefly their way, both human and lombax realised that there was no bridge connecting their position to the opposite platform, and the Versa-Target floating above looked like their only way across; meaning that they would have to get creative once more if they didn't want the guards raising the alarm.

"Babe, you think you could hit those guys from back here like you did a minute ago?"

Ellen shook her head. "I've only got two missiles left, and I don't think your rocket launcher has enough range. If only we could get closer..."

Staring at the solitary guard now that the others had temporarily disappeared into the attached rooms on either side, an idea soon began to form in Ratchet's mind. "Get ready to take that guy out when the others aren't looking. I'm going up."

Not giving her a chance to argue, Ratchet waited until the other two guards repeated their patrol pattern once more before using his Swingshot to reel himself up to the platform beyond. Cursing the lombax under her breath for his impulsiveness, Ellen wheeled around the door frame and let fly one of her last TV guided missiles on a straight trajectory that slammed into the solitary sentry bot from behind; her partner landing and reactivated his Hologuise just as the other two robots returned to investigate.

The last round left her now empty launcher to impact the floor at the right most machine's feet, not bothering to admire her handiwork as she retreated back inside the room and the doors slammed shut with explosive shells scorching the surface. Having flanked behind the last sentry bot, Ratchet dropped his disguise and leapt up to deliver an overhead strike to the back of its head with his wrench. Staggering from the blow, the bulky robot attempted to reorient itself to face the lombax only to fall to a rapid flurry of hits that pushed it back to fall off the edge of the platform to the toxic green goop below.

Once Ellen had made her own way to the raised manufacturing area, and given the lombax a piece of her mind regarding executing dumb spontaneous ideas without consulting someone, the pair began a sweep of the fabrication rooms on either side of the platform for any remaining enemies. All they found was even more of those giant purple robots under construction; these ones almost complete and intimidating even when inactive. Knowing there was no way they could let the blarg continue to mass produce these machines, the pair soon returned to the platform and the pressure sensitive lock set in the middle that was nigh identical to the one on Pokitaru. Leaping up into the air, Ratchet used the brief burst of acceleration provided by Clank's Thruster Pack to power slam right on top of the bullseye with enough force to ram the pillar into the steel housing and open the hazard-striped doors leading out of the main factory.

A short tunnel led them to a heavy-looking blast door similar to the one at the factory entrance that rolled open at their approach, and revealed another force field further ahead with a sentry bot pacing back and forth behind it. Instructing Ellen to hide behind some shipping crates stacked on one side of the tunnel, Ratchet switched on his Hologuise once more and approached the barrier with an awkward mechanical gait; a brief wave being all it took to gain access before he revealed himself and triggered a couple of rockets at the surprised mechanized gate keeper. Once everyone had regrouped, the team moved to a second blast door set in the wall off to one side opposite the alarm pedestal. It took a few minutes of messing with the doors hydraulics system to get it to open, but the results were well worth it considering what was inside the next room.

Cautiously entering with weapons drawn, the human and lombax swept the place for any more hostile robots only to find none to their combined relief. The chamber was circular like a majority of the other structures in the factory complex, with a conveyor belt jutting from one wall to transport finished products and allow them to fall through the shuttered portal occupying a fair amount of the floor. Unlike the other production lines however, this one had a large old school computer that stretched floor to ceiling; a green monochrome, cathode ray tube monitor that dwarfed the three companions recessed into the wall next to the conveyor belt.

"Guess this must be the control room," Ratchet mused aloud. "Let's see if we can get this computer running, maybe then we can see about shutting this place down."

It took several minutes with the three working together, but after a little soldering and replacing a few disconnected wires Ratchet was closing up the access panel on the front of the computer and giving it a light tap with his fist. "There, that should do it."

There was a dull hum of electricity, followed by a whirring fan from deep within the aging machine before the monitor flickered into life and displayed a command prompt. However, before anyone could move to begin searching through the reactivated computer, a single word of text appeared on screen.

_Son__

...

"Wait... You mean, that's your...?"

Ellen's question went ignored as Clank stepped forward with wide optics and servo outstretched. "Mom?"

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother."

_You have done well__

"I... tried, mom." The two organics in the room stood back so as not to disturb their small metal friend's reunion.

_There is still more to do__

Clank nodded solemnly. "I know."

Suddenly, an infobot flew from up the conveyor belt to hover before them; Ratchet making one last smart comment as its head screen expanded to play the pre-recorded message contained within.

"My fellow blarg, our synthetic world is now fully functional and ready for habitation." Once again, Drek was addressing the camera from the bridge of his flagship; a jigsaw puzzle of browns, greens, and blues forming a patchwork planet that hung against the stars behind him. "However, there is one _small_ obstacle in our way; this pathetic _lump_ of a planet." As he spoke, the camera panned around the leader of the blarg to show a sight that made both the lombax and human's blood run cold; the familiar coppery-brown orb that could only be Veldin. "Due to some blunder of fate, it happens to occupy the galaxy's most perfect orbit. _But no more!_"

With a look almost bordering on glee, Drek gestured to his left with a grand sweeping motion; the camera following suit to centre on a huge cannon attached to the underside of an even larger space station of sorts, with multiple thruster pods attached via gantry rails. "Behold, the _Deplanetizer;_ the most _powerful_ laser ever created! Soon we will move the Deplanetizer into place, just above the planet's surface. I will, of course, be on hand to press the button that will _blow_ this mud ball to smithereens! _No one will even miss it._ See you then!"

With the message playback finished, Clank stored the infobot like he had so many before. Ratchet however merely stood rooted to the spot; growling lowly through clenched teeth in such a way as to send a shiver up Ellen's spine while his shaking fists were clenched in white-knuckled rage.

"Ratchet...?" Clank tried cautiously. "Are you... alright?"

"He. Is going. To PAY!"

"Excuse me?"

The lombax ignored his smallest companion however as he continued to seethe. "It shouldn't have taken me this long to see it! Drek is going to find out what happens when you mess with _my_ home!" In the brief silence that followed his rant, Ratchet stared down at Clank only to see him smiling faintly back. "What're you smiling at?"

The small robot gave him a look of encouragement. "This is the Ratchet I always knew was there."

Rejoining the conversation, Ellen placed a hand on the lombax's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You do realise this is a trap, right? Drek knows who you are at the very least if that message was anything to go by, and he's bound to have an army between here and Veldin to stop us."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Ratchet gave her a look of gratitude. "I know; that's why we need to get on to Drek's ship first. Once we find out where he set up that laser, we can land right on top of it and take it out!"

After another brief exchange, the computer agreed to sabotage the blarg's robot production line in exchange for taking care of her 'son'. While everyone turned to leave, Clank hesitated for a moment to leave some parting words for the sentient machine partly responsible for his creation. "I will try to make you proud, Mom."

As he too departed, the small silver robot failed to see a last few words scrolling across the screen.

_You already have__

* * *

**Bit of bad news I****'****m afraid. I****'****ll be going away for a few days next weekend and so may not be able to keep to my regularly scheduled update. I****'****ll try and post early if I can, but you all know how well that went last time****…**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	23. Chapter 23: Battleships & Bad Timing

**Author****'****s note:**

**As you may have suspected, posting early didn****'****t exactly work out; so as in the previous instance this chapter is going up a day late. To be fair, I got back home late last night and managed to catch up on three days worth of typing by working into the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, I kind of dropped off to sleep on my keyboard and have been too dead tired to finish the job up until now.**

**The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that this story now has a cover at last! Thanks go to Nekolover3 for drawing such a poignant request so fast, and her kind permission to use it for fronting this story. She****'****s also been incredibly busy with two more pieces of fan art based on key moments in this story that you can now see posted on her profile (/art/Wait-What-Time-Heals-All-488911252 and /art/Ellen-1-Qwark-0-Time-Heals-All-489054070 respectively)**

**I recently found out that Pokeninjagirl also has a piece on Deviant Art under /art/RenevantReaper-s-Time-Heals-All-478688050 showing the main cast together if anyone wants to check it out, along with the rest of her prolific gallery. If anyone knows of any other fan art relating to this story, please let me know so I can share it with the rest of the readership. With any luck this should be the last delayed chapter until the story****'****s finished, so thanks for sticking with me one and all.**

**Review replies:**

**Nekolover3 - Thanks again, for the review and everything you****'****ve done to support this story. Your artistic prowess has brightened up my day and kept me going when my creativity has typically ground to a halt mid chapter. May your inspiration to draw never cease.**

**Sonachugirl - Heh. Nope, not implying **_**anything **_**at all****…**** If there****'****s anything that****'****ll unleash the otherwise laid back lombax****'****s wrath, then the annihilation of his home planet would probably be it. I really like A Crack in Time as well; not necessarily my favourite, but pretty close. Thank you once again.**

**destiny - Glad you like the chapter and the story so far. I****'****ve read through your plot synopsis and I think you****'****ve got a potentially interesting story idea on your hands with a little polish. Unfortunately, my writing schedule is going to be jam packed for a long time to come with the rest of this trilogy along with my neglected stories that desperately need updating, so I doubt I****'****ll be able to take on any more projects for quite some time. That said, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of what you want, and I****'****d be willing to assist should you wish to have a go at writing it yourself. I intend to post an authors guide to writing fan fiction on my profile soon based off of my own experiences, and if you need inspiration or just a damn good read, I****'****d recommend you check out ****'****You****'****re Not Alone****'**** by Magic Of Every Kind. It****'****s probably the closest Ratchet &amp; Clank story on the site to your idea, though it can get kind of dark in places. Sorry I couldn****'****t be any more help right now, but if you ever need someone to bounce ideas off of then I****'****m here.**

**dablackwyrm - There****'****s always a fine line between extending a chapter to encompass the narrative and just plain padding it out. I read your review after typing the first few thousand words of this chapter and almost face palmed when I realised that I****'****d almost neglected the game****'****s most iconic weapon. After going back over the beginning, I managed to slot in a little hint; hopefully without giving the game away so to speak. Seriously though, thanks for the reminder. You just saved me a whole lot of frustration for the next few chapters. Let me know when you do start to post stories again, I****'****d love to see what you come up with. Until next time, take care.**

**Guest - Do you mean me or someone else? I have been considering it, but I****'****d probably have to post it as a separate short story seeing as that would require an M rating and I wanted to keep the rest of the trilogy T rating friendly. Doesn****'****t mean I can****'****t drop a few innuendos here and there though****…**

**Guest (2) - I****'****ve actually been asked about this via PM as well. I****'****ve never actually played the game, and I probably wouldn****'****t be able to scrape together enough material for a full blown story. Having said that, you****'****ve now planted the seed of thought in to my mind so I **_**might**_** be able to put together a one shot somewhere down the line when I****'****m not snowed under with this series and other stories. After all, the thought of Ellen verbally sparring with Daxter is far too good to pass up.**

**Lots of new favourites and follows this week! A big thank you and welcome to Firestar5277 who has added this story to their alerts along with Random Cueen, Flowerstar, april7000222, and nimbleguy05 who have all added it to their favourites and follows. It's nice to know that even though this particular story is nearly finished, there are still new readers wanting to keep updated on my story. Thanks everyone!**

**I****'****m not going to get any better if you don****'****t tell me what you think, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Despite the delay, Chapter 23 is up and running. Hope the wait was worth it.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 23: **

**Battleships &amp; Bad Timing**

* * *

**Blargian Fleet, Veldin Orbit**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**6:18pm local time**

The last six hours had been tense ever since they left the robot factory on Quartu. Pushing the prototype starfighter to its limits, Ratchet had made a brief pit stop on Rilgar to pick up a 'special package' before managing to get back to his home planet in record time; barring one of the engines burning out from overstressing it for such an extended period. The atmosphere hadn't lent itself much to conversation, and besides which the three occupants of the speeding vessel were focused upon only one task. Though the coordinates provided by the infobot had given them the last known position of the blarg fleet at the time of recording, spaceships have a tendency of moving around, and so it was little surprise that their target wasn't where it was supposed to be. Seeing as Drek was supposed to be supervising the destruction of Veldin personally, Ratchet knew that his flagship had to be somewhere close by along with its escorts, but the question was where?

"I believe I have something." Clank's voice piqued his companions interest. "By recalibrating what sensors we have, I have been able to triangulate a number of heat signatures passing through this sector of space within the past twelve hours. The largest concentration however is right here." A metal digit tapped the zoomed in image of the galactic map displayed on the navigation computer, highlighting an area several dozen miles above the surface on the light side of the planet.

"And considering how recent that recording was, you're thinking that's our missing fleet?" Ellen queried, getting a polite nod in return.

"It would appear to be the most logical assumption based upon what data with have."

Ratchet's response was to reorient the ship and increase speed to the maximum safe limit. "Best lead we've had yet, and we're almost out of time. Let's check it out."

Around twenty minutes later, something silver shimmered in the black space between the stars as they approached; several more growing in size and resolving into a tightly packed cluster of vessels varying in size, but all sharing a similar design philosophy. Four of the ships were long, thin, and blocky in places; with a similar bulbous bridge at the front to the atmospheric bombers that the three companions had encountered repeatedly before, aside from the obviously larger scale and lack of visible external bomb racks.

The fifth vessel occupying the centre of the formation was different however; easily twice the width and length of a majority of the surrounding ships and festooned with multiple spherical cargo containers secured to its hull on either side, along with a quartet of external docking thruster pods complimenting its primary engines. Add to that the occasional patrol of saucer-shaped fighter craft passing between the dull silver behemoths and it was fairly obvious that this was the blarg fleet they had been searching for.

It was fortunate really that not only was their stolen ship a blarg model, but that its transponder beacon was still working and seemingly broadcasting a friendly signal if the fact that no one tried to intercept the prototype starfighter was anything to go by. Not taking any chances though, Ratchet cut the throttle to minimum as they approached the fleet and relied on the vessel's dark colouration to keep hidden while he searched for an entry point where they could set down.

"Ratchet, look at the big one. There's a hole in the top."

Glancing left at Ellen's words, he saw sure enough that there was an opening in the roof of what should have been the bridge on the bulbous front-most section of the biggest vessel; most likely protected by a light force field, and more importantly what appeared to be a landing pad visible inside surrounded by water. Finding that there was enough oxygen in the local atmosphere to negate the use of helmets, the three dismounted as soon as Ratchet set the ship down and took in their slightly odd surroundings, as well as the rest of the fleet visible through the panoramic reinforced glass windows running around the circular room's perimeter.

"I don't get it, where's all the crew? And what's with all the water?"

Clank, being the font of knowledge that he was, promptly answered the human's question. "Taking the external modules into consideration, it is probable that this ship is a water tanker of sorts, seeing as the rest of the fleet appears to be made up of combat vessels. Judging by the mass and storage capacity, it is likely to be primarily unmanned; with access points for maintenance such as this one."

Ellen shrugged. "Fair enough, but how are we supposed to get to the flagship? We were lucky enough to find somewhere to dock in the first place."

A whistle from Ratchet drew their attention to where he was stood on a platform above the moat circling the chamber. "Hey, you think this'll help?"

Exchanging brief glances, both human and robot walked up the ramp connecting the landing pad to where the lombax was stood and soon caught sight of what had grabbed his attention; Clank looking thoughtful while Ellen grimaced in distaste. "Another teleporter? You know how I feel about these things; the last one nearly made me puke."

Ratchet however was persistent. "But look at the marker label, 'to missile cruiser'. We could use this to jump ships!"

Before the human could retort with precisely _why_ she felt uncomfortable with being broken down into sub-atomic particles and transported across an airless void between thick metal hulls, Clank cut in with an exclamation of surprise. "Of course, a rapid transit system! The blarg must use this to move crew and supplies between vessels without the need for a constant flow of transport ships. Once we find the correct teleportation pad, we should be able to jump straight to the flagship."

The lombax slammed a fist into his open palm. "Exactly! So what're we waiting for? C'mon, lets go!"

{()}

"Oh God, my head..." Ellen had to grab on to Ratchet's shoulder until the brief wave of nausea passed her by in order to stay upright.

"Teleporter sickness is not an uncommon ailment among some organic species, but should pass with time and repeated experience."

The human's response to Clank's explanation was an annoyed groan followed by a frown as she took in their new surroundings. "Wish we didn't have to use them at all. Where are we anyway, a store room?"

Considering all the stacked shipping crates and the utilitarian decor of the glorified closet they had ended up in, it seemed like a fairly good guess all round. Ratchet shrugged before answering. "Probably, meaning we must be on one of the lower decks. I'll bet there's another teleporter pad somewhere around here too."

Advancing on the door barring their only exit, the thickly-plated circular bulkhead split apart into two jagged halves as soon as the lombax and human got close; a surprised sentry bot on the far side of the next room forcing them to take shelter on opposite sides of the frame as it launched explosive shells their way. Once the incoming fire slackened momentarily, they both spun around their respective cover to deliver a little retribution of their own; an extended burst from Ellen's machine pistol striking the machine in the face to disorient it while Ratchet finished it off with a rocket. The rest of the room was much the same as the store room other than the extended size; dull, grey, and clearly designed for function rather than comfort if the various exposed, bolted struts lining the walls were anything to go by.

Moving up to the next bulkhead, Ratchet decided to take things a little quieter considering the unknown territory they were stepping into and activated his Hologuise, while Ellen hid off to one side ready to support him if necessary. As the doors parted, the lombax's uncharacteristic caution was proven to be warranted since the same type of force field seemingly made up of hundreds of fireflies they had previously seen on Quartu blocked the narrow chokepoint ahead; another sentry bot poised on the other side with an alarm pedestal within easy reach. A brief wave later and Ratchet was through, dropping his disguise and using the robot's brief confusion to leap up while bringing his wrench down on its head. Once he had finished making sure the guard wouldn't get back up, Ellen rejoined her partner as they stepped through the next door, only to halt at the half-dozen robot dogs barking at them with glowing red optics.

Undoubtedly based on the models they'd previously fought on Kerwan, these mechanical mutts had a more heavily armoured bucket head compared to their predecessors, with a serrated jaw and an optic band instead of eyes that bored into the two organics scant feet away. The only thing stopping the pack from charging them was a low lying laser fence on either side that turned the corridor into a makeshift pen for the artificial canines, and it was an advantage that Ratchet and Ellen exploited ruthlessly as Blaster fire interspersed with crackling electricity arced between them until only twitching metal corpses were all that remained.

Hopping over the energy beams, both human and lombax soon found themselves standing inside a mirror image of the storage room in which they had arrived on board, right down to the messy stacks of crates everywhere and the teleporter pad sat in the middle. A flash of light and disorientation later saw the pair inside another, much narrower vessel with porous grated floors, green neon overhead lighting, and orange trim decorating the sealed bulkhead in front of them. Using the same drill as before, Ellen pressed up against the door frame where she could remain hidden and ready to react at any moment, while Ratchet reactivated his Hologuise before stepping through the parting doors.

Security was tighter, that much was obvious. Laser tripwires, multiple alarm points, and a trio of sentry bots emerging from three alternating doors on either side of the corridor only to return shortly thereafter as part of their patrol route. The disguised lombax was forced to play a deadly game of hide and seek in the cramped confines seeing as brute force alone wouldn't cut it here; flickering his Hologuise off once he'd discerned the guards pattern in order to clear the first laser beam while their attention was elsewhere before powering on his gadget once again.

The sentry bot emerging from the side room next to him gave Ratchet a curious look, but otherwise did nothing as it about faced and went back the way it came with the smaller 'robot' waddling after it. Ellen could hear some dull clangs followed by a muffled thump once the lombax had disappeared behind the closing doors for a few moments, only for her to see him emerge disguised and alone shortly thereafter from her concealed position and apparently none the wore for wear.

Something must have tipped off one of the others though, as the sentry bot in the middle of the corridor slammed his fist down on the intruder alarm. Red lighting and wailing sirens were nigh drowned out by the combination of high explosive blasts and turret fire trying to redecorate the walls with the dodging lombax's hide as Ellen rounded her cover with her Visibomb Gun levelled and sending a missile streaking at the closest enemy. Rebounding off a wall to escape the mess of shrapnel sent his way, Ratchet tucked into a roll as he dove into an open side room further up the corridor; using the brief respite to draw his Devastator and rejoin the fray. Energy blasts from the turrets kept Ellen pinned down, but gave her lombax partner the opening he needed to jam a rocket in the last robot's chest up close and allow Clank to remotely disable the alarm.

Once the fake all clear signal had been sent and nothing was left trying to kill them, the team regrouped at the end of the corridor and prepared themselves for yet another close encounter with whatever was on the other side of the sealed doors. A cacophony of barking greeted them as soon as the bulkhead parted, another pack of robotic hounds cut off by a laser fence in a wider room beyond the tight, short section of corridor. With no place to hide and a quartet of sentry bots emerging from an equal number of doorways to investigate, stealth was clearly not an option. Bringing their weapons to bear, Ellen tossed a few canisters from her Glove of Doom over the fence before changing back to her Blaster; Ratchet opting to go rocket launcher all the way as they used the distraction provided by the kamikaze drones to push forwards.

The explosions were almost deafening in such cramped quarters, mixing in with the cackling of Ellen's little helpers and automatic gunfire. Ratchet pumped another rocket into the closest sentry bot, ducking under a shell that would have detonated in his face before pivoting to slam his wrench into one of the metal mutts that tried to take him from behind. With so much chaos in such a small space, Ellen prioritised taking out the robot dogs first seeing as they were much easier for her machine pistol to cut through, followed by switching to her Bomb Glove in order to deal with the much larger and heavily armoured bipedal machines. Between them all, the encounter was over in less than a minute later; piles of mangled scrap metal scattered over the decking with a panting human and lombax stood in the middle along with a single surviving drone.

Making their way past the carnage with the little ankle biter in tow, Ellen couldn't help but voice her thoughts aloud. "You know, it's a good job the doors on these ships are so damn thick. Otherwise they would have heard us coming from half the galaxy away considering how much we've blown up so far."

Ratchet shrugged. "Hey, if it lets us get the drop on these guys then I'm not gonna complain."

Reaching the far door, the lombax disguised himself once more while his partner hid to one side; the minute drone following him like a dog as the doors parted to reveal yet another force field and attendant guard on the opposite side. Despite the dubious looks the sentry bot threw his way, a quick wave saw Ratchet through and the bounding little tyke by his side shoot forth to latch on to the bigger machine, before blowing them both up in a shower of shrapnel.

With Ellen rejoining him, the now uncloaked lombax took a quick look around the sparse bridge of the ship but found nothing of note save that almost all the consoles and control panels were missing, with hastily welded plating in their place. Was the ship piloted remotely? Or perhaps there was another bridge on a different level. Either way, it didn't matter seeing as they now had access to another teleporter which dropped them inside a different vessel again. The grated flooring and neon green overhead lighting was familiar, but the thick tubing and square panelling lining the walls was not. That, and there was a long corridor minus any doors connected to the chamber in which they stood that was part flooded with the sickly, glowing green goop from the robot factory and bristling with laser trip wires, in addition to the pack of metallic guard dogs barking up a storm on the far side.

A TV guided missile soon puts a stop to that; Ratchet using a lone Versa-Target to reel himself across the booby trapped corridor to finish off the remaining mechanical canines up close with his wrench before Ellen followed suit with her Grapple Gun. With the immediate area clear, the pair stacked up on the sealed bulkhead in front of them as they prepared to breach and clear once again. Reactivating his Hologuise, Ratchet stepped through the parting doors to check out what they would be facing next; a frown marking his face as he eyed the extra security alongside the already suspicious guard dogs. Like the last ship, four sentry bots paced back and forth in sync between the expanded room ahead and the quartet of doors lined up on either side; only this time a fifth stood staring unwaveringly back at the disguised lombax from its position next to an alarm button that would no doubt cause all the turrets he could see recessed into the floor spring to life.

Retreating back the way he came, Ratchet waited for the doors to close before relaying what he had found to his human companion and rapidly planning out their next moves. When next the bulkheads ground open, the robots occupying the room found themselves staring down the business end of a Visibomb Gun shortly before a missile streaked forth to slam into the deck plates at the feet of the stationary sentry bot; blowing it and a nearby guard dog to pieces.

Unsurprisingly, the remaining pack of mechanical mutts pushed forward to attack, while the side doors hissed open to admit the four bipedal armoured robots making for the alarm pedestal in the centre of the room one after the other. Ratchet cut a swathe through the clustered robotic hounds with his Tesla Claw as they filtered into the narrow corridor, arcing electricity frying their electronics and giving Ellen the space she needed to continue dropping the sentry bots with a steady stream of missiles since they were so fixated on their goal to the detriment of their own safety.

Once they were sure none of the machines were liable to get back up, the human and lombax cautiously moved up to the next bulkhead with a growing sense of anticipation and impatience seeing as the time left until the activation of the Deplanetizer was rapidly ebbing away. Reactivating his Hologuise once more, Ratchet waddled up a thin, sterile corridor to yet another force field seemingly made up of dancing fireflies, and the bulky sentry on the other side preventing access to the ship's bridge. A brief wave of his arm and the barrier was down; disguise dropping and wrench rising in an underarm arc to slam into the reeling robot's face, followed by two more that left its sparking form sprawled unmoving over a bank of consoles.

Stepping on to the bridge, Ellen lowered her machine pistol while taking in the elliptical bank of screens and buttons sat before the panoramic view of the stars visible through the no doubt reinforced glass panes that lined the wall, as well as the metal plates on the floor in various parts where chairs seemed to have been uprooted at some point. "Is it me, or do the blarg seem to be cannibalising parts of their own ships?"

Clank hummed in thought. "That is a distinct possibility. The new planet they are creating, as well as the numerous weapons projects we have destroyed, must have cost the blarg a significant amount of resources."

Ratchet's eyes lit up with realisation. "Hey, yeah... Remember all those ships being broken down at that space station? I'll bet they were stripping them for parts to build stuff... like that Deplanetizer out there."

The redhead followed his gaze to what little she could see of the mentioned weapons platform as it disappeared from sight behind another blarg ship on its way to the planet's surface beyond before shaking her head. "If that's the case, then Drek must be getting desperate. Come on, we haven't got much time."

So saying, they stepped on to the teleporter marked 'To Flagship' and were gone in a flash of light. Once the brief sense of disorientation had worn off from the jump, Ellen found that their new surroundings were a lot more colourful compared to the last few blarg military ships she had set foot on. The flooring was still the same steel grey, but the walls were a paler brown with soft blue lighting running around the edges of the ceiling in addition to the regular overhead lights.

The heavily set bulkhead in front of them was locked tight with a force field preventing anyone from interfering with the doors, and since there was no guard on the other side, Ratchet couldn't trick his way past either. The only option left was an open doorway to their immediate right, protected by a shimmering barrier that connected to a small maintenance lift and looking out on to the nebula of space beyond. Once Clank had confirmed that there was a very small layer of leaking atmosphere close to the hull that would prevent them from dying, Ratchet pulled his O2 mask from his Quick Select and began checking the seals.

"Guess we're going outside. Check you're helmet and hang on tight, don't want you floating off out there."

Once they were both as ready as they could be, Ratchet stepped out on to the lift platform using his Magna Boots to anchor himself, while Ellen held on tight to his harness to prevent herself floating away as the world turned upside down and they found themselves standing on the bottom of the flagship's hull. Their breathing sounded unnaturally loud in their helmets against the virtually silent vacuum of space as the lombax took careful measured steps along a path clearly designed with deep space engineers in mind; his human passenger alternating between clinging on to him in terror of floating away and marvelling at the stars along with the sudden weightlessness that came with no gravity. Were it not for the incredibly thin atmosphere, neither would be able to hear the sound of Ratchet's boots clanging against the metal panels, or the sudden streaks of blue and white condensed plasma the length of their ship that tore across their path.

It seemed that someone had finally gotten their act together, since every single gun battery mounted on the top of the water tanker where the stolen prototype starfighter was parked had turned on the completely exposed pair; raining down an ungodly amount of fire that probably would have been more accurate if they weren't actively trying to avoid hitting the flagship's hull. That said, each shot was getting closer, and the turrets now had the pair bracketed to such an extent that retreat was impossible. It was one such close call that had Ellen involuntarily letting go of Ratchet's harness when she flinched; realising a split-second later with mounting horror that there was nothing to stop her floating away.

"Ratchet!"

The lombax whipped round with eyes wide at the sight of the girl flailing helplessly. "Ellen!" Before he could even get close however, more plasma fire cut across his path and left the lombax to watch helplessly as she drifted further away.

Panic gripping her mind, Ellen flailed out with all her limbs in a desperate attempt to grab something, anything, that would prevent her from floating off to her doom. Fate seemed to smile upon her however, as her scrabbling hands came in to contact with the lip of another lift platform attached to a gantry right on the edge of the vessel's starboard side. Clinging on like a limpet, she kicked out with her leg in an attempt to climb on top and accidentally activated the small elevator instead; getting a good view of Veldin as it rotated on its axis until stopping the opposite way up further down the hull. Which was technically up. Space can be incredibly disorienting at times. Managing to get a good hold on the platform, Ellen found herself in front of a plain, steel-lined hanger fronted by another permeable shimmering barrier, and more importantly a familiar looking orange-painted starfighter parked at the back.

Pushing off the lift, Ellen propelled herself through the weak shield and promptly fell to the hanger floor with a grunt as artificial gravity reasserted itself. Thankfully the air was breathable too, allowing her to remove her Rebreather and refill the air reserves as she jogged up to the predatory ship and pried open the canopy before jumping in. This particular craft appeared to be a single seat version of the same model fighter as before; with instrument panels that were familiar from her last two rides and a majority of the controls handled by neural link via the pilot helmet that had been conveniently sat on the seat until she had picked it up. Although this meant that the controls should be simple, and that she had all of the onboard weapons at her fingertips, there was one slight problem.

"How the hell do I turn the bloody thing on?"

The control panel was lit up with dozens of buttons, and all of them were labelled in blargian. She tried pressing several but only managed to get a brief alarm and accidentally deploy the air brake before an idea dawned on her. Since the fighter was controlled primarily by thought, maybe it was voice activated as well. With Ratchet helpless above and nothing else to lose, Ellen cleared her throat and voiced the first thing that came to mind aloud.

"Start."

...

"Engage?

...

"...Go-go gadget plane?"

After several fruitless attempts, she slammed a fist down on the control panel in frustration and apparently hit something right seeing as the engines sprung to live with a low whine that gradually increased in pitch. Pushing the throttle lever forward, the starfighter rapidly picked up speed as it shot out of the hanger and gained altitude before executing a hard turn right over the stern of the flagship towards the water carrier in the centre of the fleet.

{()}

She was gone.

Ratchet continued to dodge the increasingly accurate volleys of heavy plasma sent his way, even as he frantically tried to make his way to where he had last seen her desperately clinging on to the edge of the ship. This was all his fault; he should have held her tighter, moved quicker, and now her life was on the line once again because of him. Thanks to Clank managing to keep track of her vital signs, he knew she was still alive, but for how much longer? What if her helmet had cracked and she was running out of oxygen? What if she was left flailing in the cold depths of space to freeze solid? Engulfed as he was in frantic worry, the lombax almost missed the orange-painted starfighter as it skimmed low over him towards the rest of the fleet; his Wrist Com crackling momentarily before a familiar, distorted voice piped forth from hidden speakers.

"-chet? Fuzz ball, you there? Answer me!"

Heart soaring, relief along with a healthy dose of disbelief flooded Ratchet's body as he fumbled with his communicator until finally hitting the right button. "Ellen, you're alive! I- I almost thought I'd lost you for good..."

A relieved sigh filtered through the airwaves before she spoke again. "Thank God you're alright. I got lucky; ended up in a hanger and stole a fighter. Almost thought the blarg had got you both when you didn't answer straight away,"

The lombax chuckled. "Nah, we're still in one piece. But those guns are making life difficult; think you can take 'em out?"

There was a momentary burst of static followed by the fighter pitching into a dive towards the largest ship. "I'll do what I can to keep them off your back, but I might need your help. I've never flown a spaceship before and I'm kind of out of my depth here."

Ratchet had to suppress a smirk at her response; stealing a fighter and flying it straight into battle without knowing what the hell she was doing? She was almost getting as impulsive as he was. "I think I can do that, babe."

{()}

Ellen let out a breath before licking her suddenly dry lips. "Okay... here we go."

She had to hand it to Ratchet; the lombax made flying look easy, while she could just about will the ship in the right direction without overcompensating or making it twitch thanks to the sensitive nature of the neural-linked controls. That said, the colossal vessel rapidly filling the canopy as she dove in to attack wasn't exactly something she could easily miss; and seeing as all eight gun batteries swivelled round to face her, it looked like the feeling was mutual.

Coming in low under the wall of heavy plasma sent her way, Ellen jammed down the trigger and began raking the nearest turret with a constant stream of machine gun fire while simultaneously dumb firing missiles all the while. Thankfully the massed batteries weren't nearly as armoured as they were powerful, and two promptly exploded under the assault before the human was forced to breakaway thanks to the timely arrival of enemy fighters. There were dozens of them, with more being released from the surrounding ships every second until they were swarming around their home vessels like angry hornets.

"Ellen, behind you! You've got two on your tail!"

Thanks to Ratchet's timely warning, Ellen managed to jink the fighter to the left in time to see smaller pulses of plasma streak past followed by a blarg saucer ship; another punching a hole in the orange craft's port wing even as the first passed through her gunsights and got shredded for its trouble. Wrenching into a hard right turn with her heart in her mouth, the human pilot pushed the damaged fighter away from the carrier and skimmed close to a smaller warship nearby in order to shake off the pursuer on her tail. Letting off the throttle as she rounded the dull silver vessel, Ellen saw the trailing fighter turn all to widely in an attempt to follow her and waited for the familiar negative tone signalling a solid lock before letting off a missile.

"Nice shooting babe, keep knockin' 'em down!"

With both fighters destroyed, Ellen executed a U-turn that brought her back in for another strafing run on the front of the water carrier. Guns and missiles were used to great effect in damaging one gun battery and destroying another before the rest finished rotating; the rookie human pilot taking off at full throttle with a veritable storm of plasma nipping at her heels. Using another warship to screen the hijacked fighter from the inevitable retaliatory fire, Ellen emerged to face a swathe of blarg saucer-like craft gunning for her hide. With a gasp of panic at the sudden wall of hostile ships, she jammed the throttle down and ended up corkscrewing through the formation with the trigger held down; spraying machine gun fire and perforating several fighters whose surprised pilots were unable to react in time before blowing through the other side.

Leaving the scattered fighter wing in her wake, Ellen wrenched the battered orange interceptor into another hard right turn that saw her diving down across the length of the water carrier from stern to bow with wing-mounted guns blazing all the way. Two more turrets mounted on the port side were turned to scrap by her assault before a hit near the engine nacelles had her pulling up and diving over the top of the bridge to get below their firing line. A seemingly never-ending stream of blarg fighters swooped in to spit a lethal hail of plasma bolts up close while she circled the carrier once more, warning lights indicating that that at least one of the engines were dead and the other fluctuating badly as she closely hugged the far larger vessel so as not to give the remaining gun batteries an easy target.

Having finished executing her turn, Ellen fought to keep the rapidly deteriorating craft under control as the last heavy defence guns opened up on her approach. The irony perhaps is that the unstable nature of the heavily damaged orange fighter was actually keeping the human pilot alive; burning lances of blue plasma searing past her canopy as she finished off the damaged turret from earlier before pouring a never-ending stream of machine gun fire and dumb-fired missiles into the last two batteries. With the threat finally eliminated, Ratchet was free to advance. But that left Ellen with a new problem; how to land. She wasn't confident at making it back to the hanger under normal circumstances, let alone with the interceptor barely holding together. Thankfully, the lombax had an entirely unorthodox and... slightly insane solution.

Nursing the crippled fighter until it ran parallel with the underside of the flagship, Ellen cut the throttle and let it drift onwards barely six feet off the hull's surface as she unbuckled her harness and swapped out the pilot helmet for her own Rebreather. With Ratchet talking her through the process, the human waited until she was close to the lombax's position before taking a deep breath and opening the canopy; leg muscles propelling her from her crouching position on the pilot's seat and out into the void between the two vessels.

"I gotcha." A strong, gloved arm grabbed her own and Ellen felt another pull her close to an inverted Ratchet; a mixture of relief and mirth in the jade eyes visible through his O2 mask. "You sure you've never flown a ship before? You did pretty good for a rookie."

She smirked in response, arms unconsciously draping around the lombax's neck to better support herself as her up until now hammering heart rate petered down in his familiar presence "Can't say I have. But at least I didn't wrap it round another ship... or ram it into a planet, unlike _someone_ I know, fuzz ball."

Ratchet shook his head with a light snort, his magnetic boots thudding on the metallic hull as he carried his girl in a firm but gentle embrace. Never once letting go of each other, the two rode another maintenance elevator that brought them through a shimmering energy barrier back into the ship; albeit still upside down and with the suddenly restored gravity giving them a sense of disorientation seeing as they now stood on the ceiling. A pack of robot dogs stood guard on the floor of the corridor a dozen feet below, though it was the constantly moving grid of laser fences that gave the lombax grief as he attempted to slip through them with Ellen clinging to his harness. The metal mutts barked noisily up at the intruders, but couldn't reach the duo let alone prevent them from waltzing through the doors at the far end and letting them seal behind in their wake.

Fortunately a small lift in the next room allowed the human and lombax to gently return to the ship's deck the right way up without having to fall off awkwardly, though it still took Ellen a few minutes to shake off the wooziness from having blood rush to her head and back in such a short period of time. Having removed his O2 mask, Ratchet's eyes lit up at the words stencilled on the wall beside the large, sealed black bulkhead in front of them before nudging his partner. "Ellen, look. You see that?"

Once she had stowed her own helmet, Ellen took a lungful of slightly less processed air before turning her focus to where the lombax was pointing with a frown. "Uh, fuzz ball? I can't read blarg."

Ratchet shot her a sheepish grin. "Heh, sorry, I forgot."

Wishing to expedite the conversation, Clank cut in from over his shoulder. "It reads: 'Flagship bridge - authorised personnel only by order of Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek'."

Ellen's eyes hardened. "So if Drek's not already planetside..."

The lombax beside her nodded. "Then he should be inside. You ready for this?"

The blast doors opened smoothly with barely a sound; Ratchet and Ellen advancing in tandem with wrench and Blaster raised in preparation while Clank brought up the rear. The bridge was the same dull grey as a majority of the blarg fleet tended to be, but was far better equipped if the surrounding banks of computers and consoles around the perimeter of the room was anything to go by. Along with the panoramic view provided by the no doubt heavily-reinforced viewing ports, it quickly became obvious that this was where a majority of Drek's infobot addresses were originally filmed; but that wasn't what held the three companion's attention right now.

In the centre of the room lay a raised section with its own half moon-shaped workstation and an expensive looking high-backed swivel chair bolted down just behind it. Advancing silently one step after another in the seemingly deserted bridge, the two armed members of the team halted just short with the lombax gesturing for his human partner to flank right. Just as they were about to pounce on their target however, an infobot suddenly flew up from the chair and began to playback its stored message right in front of their eyes. It appeared to be another commercial, but with a far more sinister twist.

"Tonight on _Blarg TV,_ the adventure we've all been waiting for; the total annihilation of an _entire planet!_" Shifting from a video feed of the Deplanetizer, a series of illustrated slides showed the potential effect of the doomsday device in action. "Witness the power, the destruction, and the nothingness that follows." The scene changed once again to a close up of Drek tapping his steepled fingers together on Veldin's surface with a dark smile twisting his lips. As the camera zoomed out, Ratchet's eyes widened and Ellen gasped in realisation at just where exactly the maniacal blarg was standing.

"Hey, that's my garage!"

While the lombax smouldered with quiet anger, his human companion growled in frustration beside him. "Son of a bitch is taunting us!"

Drek continued to smile and wave at the camera as the narrator carried on. "So join Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek, as he pushes the button that ends one world and begins another! Then, stay tuned for 'The Galaxy's Funniest Superhero Bloopers', featuring Captain Qwark." The screen briefly changed to a still shot showing Qwark falling down some stairs in Metropolis before fading to black once more as the recording finished.

Clank packed away the infobot along with the numerous others he had collected so far, while Ratchet stood with one hand cupping his chin in uncharacteristically contemplative silence.

"What's on your mind, fuzz ball? You know he's just waiting for us down there, right?"

Emerald eyes flickered to Ellen as she leaned back against the central console with arms folded. "I'm thinking we should head back to my place. That's the last place we know Drek was, and I might still have some stuff in the workshop we could use."

Clank shook his head. "The infobot message was most likely part of an elaborate trap. It is illogical to suggest that Chairman Drek would still be in the near vicinity."

Ellen hummed in thought. "Maybe not, but I'll bet he hasn't gone far considering how recent that infobot message was." Her eyes focused upon the lombax as she stepped forward to rejoin him. "Your place would probably be as safe as any to put down while we go in on foot. If he's half as smart as I think he is, then Drek's bound to have anti-air defences in place to stop us flying directly to the Deplanetizer itself, as well as an army on the ground."

Ratchet gave her a weak smile, determination gradually filling out his features the longer he spoke. "Well, no one said it was gonna be easy. But this is my home on the line, and Drek's got nowhere left to run. With everything the three of us have been through together, I know we can stop him." He stretched out a hand palm down, looking at her expectantly. "To friends."

It took a second for Ellen to register what he was getting at, during which Clank placed his much smaller metal digits over the lombax's own. "To galactic peace."

Taking a step forward, the human lay her significantly paler hand on top the stack of similar appendages. "To the bitter end. Let's nail this bastard once and for all."

* * *

**A little abrupt at the end there I know, but it felt like the best place to end it. If there****'****s any glaring errors, please feel free to point them out so I can fix them; I****'****m generally not at my best after only a few hours sleep and spell check can only do so much. Hopefully I can get back into the groove sooner than not, and start actually releasing chapters on time again.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	24. Chapter 24: Homecoming Part I

**Author****'****s note:**

**Well here we are everyone; the beginning of the end. As you can probably guess by the chapter title, I****'****ve had to split the finale into two due to the increasing length and in order to post on time at all thanks to the hectic week I****'****ve had. Nevertheless, I think I managed to pull off a decent first half and can only hope you enjoy it as much as my previous efforts.**

**Also, new fan art! Nekolover3 has come up with yet another piece, this one based upon a certain event in the last chapter. /art/NO-Time-Heals-All-489882085 if anyone wants to check it. If anyone knows of any other fan art out there relating to this story then please let me know.**

**I thought now might be a good time to say thank you for all your reviews this week as well, it****'****s always nice to know that the story nearly being finished hasn****'****t diminished your enthusiasm.**

**Review replies:**

**dablackwyrm - Well I do aim to be different when the opportunity presents itself, glad you like the chapter. As you can probably guess by the chapter title, you****'****re right about this being a two parter; though I may post the epilogue as a separate entry after the second half, not decided yet. There****'****ll be a few surprises in this chapter you may not see coming, but no more OCs for the rest of this story I****'****m afraid due to time constraints. The sequels however****…**** I****'****ve got a few new characters planned out in my head as well as fleshing out existing background characters, plus **

**Ellen****'****s presence will definitely change some things considerably.**

**destiny - Sorry I couldn****'****t help you; though I would have to say that it doesn****'****t matter how bad a writer you might **_**think **_**you are, as long as you can come up with a good story that others will want to read and enjoy. I would much rather read one fresh and original idea that was barely punctuated and full of spelling errors than a dozen precise and clear but ultimately stagnant stories that fail to spark interest beyond the first chapter. Point is, don****'****t be put off by inexperience; we all have to start somewhere. Looking back at some of my earlier efforts cluttering up my hard drive. and how crude they were, makes me realise just how far I****'****ve come in the last few years since I started writing for fun rather than because I had to.**

**I****'****m not trying to pressure you, but you****'****d do well to give it some thought. No one improves with out practice after all, including me. I consider my drawing skills to be terrible, but with enough time and effort I might one day be able to produce a piece I could be proud of. I know I****'****ll never be as good as the best artists out there, but that doesn****'****t stop me from trying. If you do decide to have a go, I****'****m always here to help if you need it. If you don****'****t want to, then who am I to say otherwise?**

**Sorry this was a bit long winded, but I just didn****'****t want you to feel put off of writing when you****'****ve got such a potential idea in mind. I would recommend ****'****You****'****re Not Alone****'**** by Magic Of Every Kind though for a damn good read, it****'****s the nearest story I****'****ve seen to your ideal on this site so far and is worth a look which ever way you decide. Take care.**

**Nekolover3 - Glad you like it, and thank you for posting yet another great piece of fan art.**

**GoldenLombaxGirl - I know, I always find it such a heart warming scene in the game no matter how many times I see it.**

**zenith88 - Yay, new reviewer! I****'****m happy you****'****re enjoying the story so far and hope this chapter will live up to your expectations as well.**

**kboyer36 - I figured it****'****d be an interesting twist to let Ellen take the hot seat so to speak. The story might be nearly over, but there****'****s always the sequel to look forward to!**

**Firestar5277 - Another new reviewer! To be honest, I don****'****t know. For now all my time is going to be dedicated to finishing the original trilogy as well as the numerous other stories I****'****ve neglected/not got round to posting yet that are clogging up my hard drive. Ideally I****'****d like to, but it probably wouldn****'****t be for a long time yet if at all. Sorry.**

**Sonachugirl - I kind of wanted to twist peoples expectations a little considering the rest of the chapter was pretty much canon up to that point, hope you liked it. It****'****s amazing to think that this story has been on the go for over five months now, and to think that I only posted the first chapter on a whim too****…**** Thanks for pointing out the mistakes I made, to be honest I was kind of expecting more considering how tired I was when finished typing the chapter but hopefully they should b fixed by the time you read this. Guess spell check is good for something after all. Sorry for the delay last time, but at least this week****'****s chapter is actually on time! Thanks again.**

**New favourites and follows once again this week! Thanks go to HopeandBrotherhood707 and Firestar5277 (Hi again!) for adding this story to their favourites along with zenith88 who is following as well. Thank you all for your support, as well as all you regular readers out there whose expectations I strive to live up to.**

**They say practice makes perfect; and so does feedback, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Actually on time this week, and near the end too! Here****'****s Chapter 24, enjoy!**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 24: **

**Homecoming Part I**

* * *

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**7:41pm local time**

Once they had teleported back to the water tanker, the team had mounted up with haste; Ratchet using the chaos and confusion sown by their battles without and within the fleet to slip through the ships' remaining defences and head straight for Veldin. With only one functional engine on the stolen starfighter and no time for repairs, the lombax could only grind his teeth in frustration at the comparatively slow speed they were making as the predominantly coppery-brown orb that was Veldin grew larger by the second.

"Stupid question, but you do know where your house is, right? Everything kind of looks the same from up here."

Clank's antennae glowed briefly as he tapped several buttons on the navigation computer, never once taking his optics off task as he replied to the human's question on the lombax's behalf. "I have the specific coordinates of where I reactivated on Veldin stored in my memory banks, along with those of each planet and landing zone we have ever visited. I am marking the location now." A short chime sounded from the central console, and a blinking green marker superimposed itself over the displayed map of the planet's surface. "Bear right 30 degrees and continue on for 26.3 miles."

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Dropping his voice, he grumbled to himself as he corrected their course and pointed the ship straight at their intended destination. "Coulda found it myself anyway. What are you, my personal GPS?"

The distance to their intended landing zone counted down rapidly in relative silence bar the noises usually associated with a spacefaring ship, each of the occupants consumed with their own thoughts and tension at what was soon to come. Suddenly a blaring alarm bought the three back to the present; a red light flashing rapidly on the instrument panel below the blargian characters for 'Master Caution' stamped on to the metal. From the planet's surface below a series of glinting objects steadily resolved into a swarm of red-tipped missiles, riding plumes of smoke as they exited the atmosphere and streaked across the void towards the lone vessel.

"Well, there's our welcoming party. You guys might wanna hold on to something."

Taking the lombax's words to heart, Ellen and Clank double checked their shared harness and clung on for dear life as their pilot wrenched the ship into a hard left turn, barely evading the first fiery spear as it blew past their starboard wing. Despite the state of disrepair, Ratchet practically made the prototype fighter dance as he weaved through the missile storm; an acrobatic display born of experience, instinct and knee jerk reactions that saw them through the worst of the explosive rain with only minor damage from a few near misses. But with so many missiles solely targeted at them, their luck inevitably ran out.

Entering the atmosphere also meant shortening the time it took for the surface-based orbital defence batteries to target their craft, and so it was around 20,000 feet up and several miles out from their destination that disaster struck. Barrel rolling to one side in order to evade one missile brought the stolen prototype into the direct path of another with scant seconds to respond. Ratchet jinked left fast enough to avoid being gutted amidships, but the resulting detonation tore off the starboard wing and shredded what was left of the damaged engine. A mixture of yells and screams could be heard within the confines of the cockpit as the now completely unstable vessel began to spin around its axis and plummet towards the planet's surface below. On the plus side, at least no one was shooting at them anymore.

Centrifugal force pinned Ratchet to his seat, teeth grit against the G-forces crushing down on him as increasingly heavy arms fought with the control sticks to pull them out of the nigh flat spin. Being a robot, Clank was largely unaffected, but Ellen was having a hard time maintaining consciousness as the blood pooling in her legs caused her vision to grey out. It wasn't until they had broken the 7000 feet ceiling that the lombax managed to break their spiralling downwards cycle and even out their descent, greedily sucking in air to replace that driven from his lungs as he struggled desperately to maintain level flight long enough to slow down. The air brake was a no go, bleeding off speed for a few precious seconds before sheering off from their still high velocity, and what few control surfaces the ship still had remaining were responding sluggishly if at all.

Warning indicators flashed everywhere, alarms blaring throughout the cockpit in a cacophony of light and sound that only added to the sense of terror as Ratchet's mind frantically sought a solution of any kind to get out of this situation; eyes eventually coming to rest on the instrument panel and the digital gauges depicting engine output specifically. There was no way they could eject going as fast as they were, but if he could reroute the power...

"Ratchet, what are you doing?"

Gloved hands danced over the multitude of buttons and switches clustered together, the lombax's response clipped and abrupt given the bad situation they were in. "Tryin' to reverse the engine's thrust! See if you can get that panel open and give me some more juice!" Clank complied without hesitation, the pair working in tandem as they redistributed the power output to the sole operating engine and inverted the direction of thrust; turning it into one big retro rocket.

As they broke the 3000 feet limit, the effect of the lombax and robot's last ditch effort was finally felt; the ship's velocity gradually slowing but at such a rate as to make it almost negligible. Frustrated at not being able to contribute anything to saving their hides, Ellen could only concentrate on drawing in shallow breaths; hands locked around her harness with a vice grip and mind focused primarily on not vomiting over the interior as their altitude continued to drop like a lead weight.

"We're not slowing down fast enough! Everyone brace for impact!"

The redhead managed to wrap her arms around Clank's mid-section and pulled him close, the dinky robot gratefully entwining his smaller appendages around her own as Ratchet did whatever he could to keep the craft relatively level and cushion their inevitably rough landing.

Suddenly there was no time left at all; the ground below filling the tinted glass canopy while harsh scrub whipped by in the blink of an eye. Something crunched and splintered under the hull, the ship lurching forward and ploughing a deep trench into the loosely compacted dirt and shale of Veldin's surface. The remaining wing tore off amidst a shower of sparks and hydraulic fluid as a rock formation sliced through composite armour and internal wiring like a hot knife through butter; sheer momentum from the strike causing the craft to flip around its axis and roll violently until it finally slewed to a halt. The few fires ignited by the leaking fuel lines were quickly reduced to scant smouldering flickers by surprisingly still intact extinguishers around the cockpit area, and it was probably that which kept the now unconscious occupants relatively unharmed.

{()}

Ellen groaned as she came to, a hand raising to her thumping head and finding an already closing gash that had matted clumps of her hair with blood. Turning slowly so as not to aggravate her injuries any more, she saw Ratchet wasn't much better off as he groggily unstrapped himself from his tangled harness. "Hey babe, you alright?"

The human's voice was scratchy from belting her lungs out in the fall, combine that with the headache from hell and she wasn't feeling particularly chipper. "Fan-freaking-tastic. You know, after Novalis, this has got to be a new personal best for crap landings."

Ratchet snorted with amusement as he helped cut her loose. "Yeah? Well at least it wasn't my fault this time. You seen Clank?"

After a brief search, the small robot was found out cold in the bottom of the cockpit, having retreated back into his compacted form to negate the damage from the crash. With a strained effort against the ruined hydraulics, the able-bodied pair heaved up what was left of the canopy and took their first deep breaths of unfiltered Veldin air; taking care to avoid the flaming debris as they dropped over the side of the mangled hull and on to solid ground with Clank tucked under Ellen's arm.

"I don't believe it. Of all the places we could have crash landed..."

Ratchet turned around to see what his human companion was referring to and let his mouth split into a grin at the sight of his garage-come-house not ten yards away. "Hah! told ya I'd get us here! Oh yeah, who's the man!"

Ellen rolled her eyes in exasperation at his crowing. "Can we please just get inside? The blarg will probably be sending troops out to look for our bodies soon, and none of us are in any condition to fight right now. Here's hoping you've still got some supplies left inside."

Thankfully no one seemed to have looted the place in their absence, and after a generous helping of Nanotech the two organic members of the team felt a damn sight better. At some point during their search of the interior Clank had woken up from his self imposed stasis, and after a brief period of disorientation followed by an even briefer synopsis of what had happened after he had switched off, the diminutive robot had taken to assisting his companions in any way he could.

Thankfully ammo wasn't an issue seeing as they had already maxed out their reserves with what little spare money they had remaining; and so it was that the trio set out past the mangled wreckage of the formerly pristine starfighter, through a gap that had been torn through the tall metal fence surrounding the property and out into the sparsely populated wilderness of Veldin. The skies were a burnished orange from the lengthening sunset, and aside from an arid breeze rustling through the terrain and the occasional croaking from the native horny toads, all was still. The hopping amphibian-like, desert-dwelling creatures were quickly discouraged by bursts of flame courtesy of Ratchet's Pyrocitor, along with the occasional bomb from Ellen to break up the odd cluster as they advanced down a narrow trail bordered by a sheer death drop on either side that led to a communications relay station just ahead.

The roar of twin ion engines from above announced the presence of a black-painted blarg dropship auguring in to drop off a squad of elites over a wide area, no doubt to make sure that the intruders had died along with their ship. Boy were they in for a surprise. Ratchet wasted no time in launching a rocket at the blarg hovering just above the relay, detonating the jet pack on the preoccupied soldier and sending the body flailing into the depths below.

Moving to cross a metal-plated humpback bridge that linked the lombax's home to the rest of the plateau, the pair met another special forces trooper at the crest already raining down fire on them. Ducking to either side, the human and lombax began to exchange fire with Blaster and Tesla Claw even as a second dropship flew in to disgorge reinforcements out of sight on the far side before flying off. The blarg continued to dodge back and forth until a burst from Ellen's machine pistol caught him in the side, and gave Ratchet the opening he needed to put the soldier down for good.

Finally crossing the bridge, it soon became clear that the elite was merely stalling for time; the back up squad already occupying the high ground ahead and turning the area below into a kill zone. Nevertheless, the duo had no choice but to push through; a short stab of arcing electricity taking care of the meandering horny toads occupying the open area of rocks and scrub as they ran the gauntlet of fire to the relative safety provided by a staircase formed from several large cut slabs of rock. Hunkering down, Ellen switched to her Visibomb Gun and managed to curve a missile around the corner to detonate close to where the spec ops team were dug in. The brief lull in incoming fire was all Ratchet needed to leap up out of their shared cover and across the oversized stepping stone between the stairs and the raised area on the far side; wrench already in hand and Thruster Pack boosting him directly at the nearest blarg soldier to engage up close and personal.

Popping up to launch another missile, Ellen found that the lombax had already taken care of one elite and was currently laying into a second. Seeing the third swooping around to strike her partner from behind, the redhead let loose anyway; the blast radius being enough to take out the blarg even without a direct hit. Once she had caught up with leaps and bounds, the pair followed a worn trail that soon split in two; the left path leading down through the gutted ruins of a large ship, while the right led to a wide plateau terminating at a ridgeline with a great view of the surrounding area according to Ratchet.

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged at the human's question. "Been here before. The crashed ship where I found you two is just around the corner."

The redhead hummed in thought. "In that case, I'll go set up on the ridge while you push through the low way. You're better at close quarters than me, and at least that way I can support you if needed."

With that agreed upon, the two split up on their respective paths. Ellen used wide sweeping motions with her Versa Blade to clear a path through the damn horny toads that just persisted on getting in her way before finally reaching the edge of the cliff she was looking for, only to be forced to dive aside as explosive energy blasts tore chunks out of the plateau around her. Peaking from behind the cover of a large rock formation, she soon realised that her attacker was one of the vaguely hexagonal dropships that the blarg were fond of; mounted cannons raining down fire on anything that moved. Unholstering her Visibomb Gun, the redhead raised the launcher until it was almost vertical before squeezing the trigger; letting a TV guided missile streak into the sunset glow for a few seconds before a flick of her thumb sent it into a dive to slam dead centre on the hovering armed transport.

Hearing the explosion in the middle distance followed by the sight of flaming wreckage dropping out of the sky, Ratchet figured Ellen had started the party without him; meaning he had a lot of ground to make up. Sprinting through the broken remains of a long dead starship, his head snapped to one side automatically as a bolt of energy passed within inches of searing his fur; Tesla Claw already up and sending a jolt of electricity at the blarg elite blocking his path. Surprisingly, the artificial lightning did little damage to the jet pack equipped trooper save making him charge forwards with his gun set to slam into the lombax's stomach. Perhaps blarg special forces now had insulated suits? Either way, it didn't stop Ratchet from leaping over the bull rush to deliver a punishing downwards strike of his own via Omni-Wrench to the skull.

Making best speed down the meandering path, Ratchet passed another relay station and ploughed through more horny toads that had gathered outside an automated water condenser plant before taking a sharp right that would lead through an archway to where Clank's ship had crashed mere days ago rather than the age it felt like. Only now there was a damn tank in the way. The heavily-armoured tracked vehicle opened fire without hesitation; twin auto-cannons spitting explosive shells that forced the lombax to run for his life back the way he came. "Babe, could use a little help right now!"

His answer was a missile streaking from the sky to strike the tank mid-way up the engine block; the force of impact detonating the ammo locker and blowing the turret clean off. "How's that for service?"

Ratchet turned to see Ellen hurrying down the sloping path towards him, smoking launcher still in hand. "Thanks babe, I owe ya one."

The redhead chuckled good naturedly as she fell into step beside him. "Consider us even. You've saved my arse more times than I can count."

They moved in tandem up to the archway, taking cover on either side and peaking around to check for enemy movement. The remains of Clank's ship were long gone; but in its stead were yet another squad of spec ops, backed up by a patrolling tank and a Dropship hovering protectively in the distance over a bridge adjacent to a large water tower with attached reservoir basin. "You take the heavy hitters, I've got these guys."

Nodding somewhat reluctantly at the Lomax's ad hoc plan, Ellen pointed the business end of her Visibomb Gun around the archway and squeezed off a missile just as Ratchet rounded his cover with a whistle. "Hey fellas, looking for me?"

Naturally every gun in the area was now pointing at the grinning lombax, and it was because of this that none of the defending blarg noticed anything amiss until their armoured support went up in a shower of shrapnel, bent wheels, and flailing caterpillar tracks. In the chaos, Ratchet got off a pair of rockets from his devastator that punched two of the hovering elites out of the air before the remaining squad members could get a bead on him. Keeping the blarg airborne infantry occupied gave Ellen the time she needed to chamber the next round into her launcher and target the now incoming dropship; a TV guided missile flying low to the ground only to rise up at the last second and gut the vessel amidships from below. With no more heavy support left to stop them, the human activated her defence drones and rounded the archway with Blaster in hand, ready to assist Ratchet in mopping up the blarg soldiers.

She needn't have bothered. The lombax in question stood leaning against his wrench with a knowing grin while what was left of the spec ops team lay twitching on the ground behind him. "Ready to get going, babe?"

They soon passed the crater made by Clank's wrecked ship, no trace of its passing remaining, and made their way through yet another cluster of horny toads for the bridge beyond. On the other side lay a plasma fence; a barrier with a much higher intensity than the force fields they had previously encountered and no easy way to disable them. Thankfully there was an Invinco-Lock on the left side set into the sheet metal wall, Clank's hacking program taking a little longer than usual but otherwise working a charm on the energy gate. Passing through, they were soon stood at the base of the reservoir basin with the large water tower on top that they could see earlier; several crispy horn toads scattered around due to thinking that charging a flamethrower was actually a good idea. Taking note of the ducting running up and alongside the basin, Ratchet equipped his Magna Boots before turning to face Ellen.

"Well, guess we're going up."

To distribute their weight, since Clank was already on the lombax's back, Ellen ended up with her arms draped around Ratchet's neck while her legs wrapped around his waist; bosom pressed snugly against his chest fur as they began to climb. "Don't get any ideas fuzz ball, now's not the time or place."

Feeling a little mischievous, Ratchet turned his head slightly to whisper in her ear as they negotiated a particularly tricky U-shaped section. "Shame. Guess I'll just have to save 'em for later then, huh?"

The next few minutes went by in not entirely companionable silence; Ellen with eyes wide and cheeks flushed at the insinuation, combined with the warmth radiating from his fur, while Ratchet looked like the cat that had gotten the proverbial cream if his grin was anything to go by. Reaching the top, the redhead awkwardly dismounted; coughing into a clenched fist to hide her embarrassment as she leaned over the gantry on which they now found themselves to take a look at the basin interior. "Looks like another one of those pressure sensitive locks down there and a way through, but we'll have to drain the water in order to get to them."

Luckily enough there was a faucet close by on their level, allowing her to put the Hydrodisplacer to good use in turning the once vast reservoir into a really deep paddling pool. Vaulting off the edge, Ratchet took advantage of Clank's Thruster Pack to glide down while his human companion took the ladder instead. By the time she got to the bottom, the lombax had already power slammed the lock and was now stood in the threshold of the newly opened doorway waving her on. "C'mon, time's wasting!"

A short jog along a drainage pipe later and the duo were climbing up a ladder, followed by vaulting up to a ledge high above and emerging at the mouth of an artificial cave that looked like it showed signs of volcanic activity if the flickering orange glow and smell of sulphur was anything to go by. It also happened to be crawling with horny toads, blarg soldiers, and a tank that someone had very helpfully parked at the gaping cave mouth just at the edge of their vision in order to guard the exit. With time ebbing away, they had little choice but to mount a direct assault. With Ellen guiding a missile through the cavern to take care of the armoured vehicle, Ratchet pushed forward once more with his Tesla Claw; frying the hopping amphibians before rolling behind the relative safety provided by a carelessly placed round metal container.

With the blarg soldiers attention split between them, the two ended up bogged down in their own separate firefights. Ellen exchanged fire with the elite directly targeting her, popping up to let off a quick burst before ducking back down to avoid the energy blasts sent her way in return. Crouched behind his temporary barricade, Ratchet switched weapons as the other two squad members kept him suppressed; one boosting around the lombax's cover to flank him only to run straight into the barrel of a Devastator at point blank range. The sole unengaged blarg could only look on with surprise as his rocket-propelled partner slammed into the cave wall with explosive force, followed by his target using the metal container as a springboard to fly at him with an Omni-Wrench swinging in an arc that left no room to manoeuvre in the confined space.

With the cavern clear of any hostile presence, it was simply a hop and a skip over the ridiculously thin pillars in the middle of lava lake far below before the three made it to the cave entrance and the network of mining platforms extending from the cliffside in front of them. Unsurprisingly, more blarg forces opened fire upon them the second they stepped out into the open; a flying leap seeing them across the gap between the cave and the brief stab of pain associated with bare skin making contact with solid mesh panels as the pair rolled upon landing and dove behind the cover offered by a pair of duplicate rounded metal containers. There were at least two full squads of spec ops hovering in a loose skirmishing line above the platforms with more undoubtedly on the way; the sheer volume of fire keeping the duo pinned down and barely able to offer much in the way of retaliation on their own part.

"What do we do now?" Ellen managed to yell over the din of gunfire; machine pistol blind firing over her cover in the enemy's general direction.

"We gotta get in close where we can do some damage, otherwise they'll just keep us here 'til Drek's done setting up the Deplanetizer!"

Ratchet punctuated his statement by quickly leaning around his barricade and letting loose a rocket that actually did hit its intended target, before ducking back as more energy blasts painted his position. Insane as it may have sounded, there really was no other choice. The blarg's giant laser cannon platform could be getting ready to fire any minute; meaning that if they didn't move soon then everyone on Veldin would be dead anyway.

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't..." Ellen murmured aloud before raising her voice. "Alright fuzz ball, get ready to back me up with more than just words."

Before either could rush out into the veritable firestorm however, the sound of grating metal and hydraulics from above caught their attention. On top of the cliff upon which the platforms were attached to, a towering rectangular launch tube set upon a rotating circular base supported by four heavy legs dug into the rock itself began to turn slowly on its axis to face the direction of the blarg force before angling down as far as possible.

"What the-"

Ratchet's question was drowned out by the sheer volume of noise as the anti-ship orbital defence battery unleashed its entire payload of family saloon length missiles at the spec ops squads less than 200 feet away in a spectacular demonstration of overkill. Even the few dropships still on approach were wiped out as they tried to flee; warheads designed for taking out frigate-sized vessels more than enough to tear apart the much weaker ships through the blast force alone.

...

"Holy shit..."

"My apologies for the delay, the encryption algorithm was much more difficult than I anticipated."

Both organics exchanged incredulous looks before turning to look at the diminutive robot stood off to one side. "Hang on a sec, you did that?"

Clank nodded at Ellen's question. "Indeed. The devices we had been sheltering behind appear to be control nodes for the anti-ship orbital defence batteries. Once I was able to establish a connection, it was merely a matter of rewriting the targeting parameters to fool the system into thinking that the blarg were low flying hostile ships and should be subsequently engaged using an airburst mode."

Ratchet whistled in appreciation at the sheer amount of destruction. "Well, can't argue with the results. Remind me never to underestimate your nerd powers again."

Seeing as there was nothing left moving in the immediate area, both human and lombax let Clank retake his regular spot before setting off once again; crossing a narrow bridge and another wide platform before using a series of smaller ones as stepping stones to curve around a jutting cliff face. The platform on the far side had two more of the control nodes placed closely together, and surprisingly a pair of spec ops who had miraculously managed to avoid the decimating effects of the missile barrage.

Thankfully they were looking in the wrong direction, meaning that Ratchet and Ellen's attack came as a complete surprise; Tesla Claw and Blaster wrecking havoc with the blarg's jet packs and dropping them unceremoniously over the edge. A short dash across a smaller platform followed by climbing on top of another brought them to the mouth of a gorge several hundred feet, up with a pair of huge towers to their left and multiple abandoned billets for the miners hanging from the rock wall on the immediate right that was attached to the walkway ahead.

Yet another vaguely hexagonal blarg dropship flew low overhead to take up position further along the canyon, though it didn't drop any more troops to reinforce the squad of spec ops that flew out of the billeting mid-way up the path to block the way; seemingly content to hang back and provide long range fire support instead. Ellen immediately fell back into her supporting role; bringing up her visibomb Gun and letting loose one more of the dwindling supply of missiles she had left on a straight path towards the black-painted vessel. Unfortunately one of the blarg soldiers just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time to take the full brunt of the tank-killing punch square in the chest; the other two squad members immediately opening fire while the human's intended target rotated in place in order to get a bead on the duo.

Running forward in an effort to attract the elites' attention, Ratchet ducked and flipped over the incoming fire while trying to make sure he didn't accidentally fall over the edge of the narrow walkway; a shot from his Devastator taking care of one soldier while a second rocket went wide. With the blarg otherwise occupied, Ellen had the window she needed to re-ready her missile launcher and try again; the TV guided explosive warhead striking the dropship dead on the nose before it could even get a single round off. Switching back to her rapidly emptying Blaster, she squeezed off short staccato bursts that kept the remaining elite distracted long enough for Ratchet to nail him with a thrown wrench that was caught in mid-stride as they continued to run down the walkway without stopping.

The few horny toads that were inexplicably up on the precarious mining platforms were soon swatted aside as the pair desperately tried to make up for lost time; making use of Thruster Pack and Grapple Gun respectively to cross a gap between the billets before hauling themselves up to a raised circular platform. A series of Versa-Targets allowed them to swing across a wide expanse to the canyon exit, nestled within an enclosed gulley that had overhanging rock formations and another plasma fence hidden behind a control node that needed disabling. Once the few horny toads in the immediate area were taken care of, Ellen opened up her Wrist Com and set Clank's hacking program to work once more; foot tapping with impatience as the long seconds ticked away.

A few minutes later and they were through; the native life barely giving them pause as they pushed through the enclosed gulley and into a much wider area characterised by the moist soil, abundance of growing plant life, and the waist deep oasis occupying a good portion of the isolated locale. The rising moon peaked over the edge of the horizon as the sky continued to dim, casting its light on the shimmering waters below and giving the whole area an ethereal quality. "Wow... I never thought I'd see a place like this on such a dry and dusty planet."

Ratchet patted the awe struck human on the shoulder as he gently steered her in the right direction. "Sure is something, huh? Used to come out here when I was a kid to relax and take a swim. Maybe we can come back once we've kicked Drek off the planet."

Sobering up at the task ahead of them, Ellen followed the lombax in wading through the cool, waist high water to the other side of the oasis; almost running head on into yet another squad of spec ops as the gulley closed in once more with an accompanying dropship hovering just beyond effective range, its weapons no doubt warming up. Ratchet gave the nearest a quick burst of electricity from his Tesla Claw before ducking behind a central stone pillar alongside his human companion. Ammo was starting to become scarce; meaning that the mismatched pair would have to ration what they had left, seeing as the Gadgetron PDA charged a fortune for the basics and blargian munitions weren't compatible with their weapons. Time to get creative then.

Letting the first volley of fire pass them by, Ratchet flipped sideways around their shared cover and finished off the elite he had previously struck with more artificial lightning; the bolts of energy sizzling on impact with the nearby pools of water and throwing up clouds of steam that partially obscured the combatants from view. Equipping her Bomb Glove, Ellen hurled a pair of the contact sensitive explosives as hard as she could towards the overhanging rock face above the hovering spec ops on her side; the detonation enough to break loose a good portion of the cliff and bury one blarg while a particularly large chunk struck another in the head. Taking advantage of the free ammo, Ratchet equipped his Suck Cannon and hoovered up as many of the smaller rocks as he could before spitting them back at the only soldier still standing, while his partner used her last missile to take care of the dropship as it came in to attack.

Spent and exhausted from the constant fighting, Ratchet and Ellen gave a wide berth around a gaping volcanic fissure in their path before the terrain suddenly ended in a cliff edge overlooking a lava stream, with a multi-storey structure on the far side of the chasm that the lombax was fairly familiar with. "Hey, I know that place! That's the local water treatment plant, we should be able to cut straight through to the uplink station on the other side!"

Ellen eyed the gap uncertainly. Their only way in looked like a Versa-Target set within a narrow outlet pipe mid-way up the wall on the same level as they were, and that was a pretty tight squeeze. "You think that's where Drek's setting up the Deplanetizer?"

Clank nodded despite no one being able to see the gesture. "It does seem like the most logical place for such a weapon, assuming it relies upon satellite triangulation in order to be most effective."

The decision was taken out of their hands by the arrival of fresh reinforcements; several dropships slowing to a halt in order to disgorge their cargo of battle ready troops. "We don't have time to deal with these guys! Go! Go!"

Needing no further encouragement from the lombax, Ellen latched on to the Versa-Target with her Grapple Gun and rapidly reeled herself in with Ratchet not far behind; the pair running through the short outlet pipe and clambering up a ladder at the end in order to escape their potential pursuers, only to freeze at the sight before them once they stepped on to the platform up top.

"That's...a lot of bad guys." The lombax's understatement rang true, seeing as the valley floor before them leading to the satellite uplink station further ahead was swamped with what looked like a reinforced company of blarg elite troops, backed up by several armed dropships and even a tank platoon that were all on high alert.

Ellen slowly shook her head. "There's no way we've got enough ordinance to deal with that lot. Come on, let's see if there's another way round."

Carefully backing away from the edge of the platform so as not to be spotted, the redhead gestured silently for Ratchet to follow as she turned left towards another metal tunnel that led away from the overwhelming force. A brief walk later found them inside an expansive enclosed chamber with a shallow pool in the bottom and a faucet around the far side of the catwalk that spanned the circumference mid-way up, allowing Ellen to dump the contents of her still bulging Hydrodisplacer and raising the water level enough to access the now open submerged outlet pipe. With O2 mask and Rebreather equipped, the pair dove under the cool depths and swam with the aid of their respective hydro jets through to another chamber on the other side that was almost a mirror image before hauling their soaking forms out on to dry land and making their way through the exit tunnel.

Back outside, Ratchet jumped down from their elevated position with Clank's Thruster Pack arresting his fall, while Ellen took the safe option and used a nearby ladder set into the rock face to climb down to ground level. By the time her boots touched the compacted soil, the human found that once again her beau had wiped out anything remotely threatening in the enclosed area; being surrounded by tall craggy rock formations on three sides and a chain of storage silos forming a wall on the fourth. However, it was the large circular pad inset with a glowing orange centre in the middle of the clearing that caught her attention, as well as the other two members of their little team.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Clank's antennae glowed briefly as he inspected the device. "If you are insinuating that this enlarging machine is similar to the one we encountered on planet Quartu, then you are indeed correct. I am currently checking to see if it will recognise my specific circuit pattern... which appears to be the case."

Just like before, there was a flash of light and whirring of machinery as the tiny robot suddenly expanded from the ground up once more; a thick set of chunky bipedal legs with low set ball joints for knees exploding forth from his diminutive frame. A proportionally huge torso came next, spinning around on its axis and filled out into a heavily up-armoured, almost barrel-like hulk of metal with thick alloy plating covering up the vulnerabilities of his prior self, while his arms underwent a similar process down to the reinforced gauntlets, segmented shoulder guards, and arm-mounted rocket launchers. Finally, Clank's head expanded into an upscaled version to better fit the now building-sized robot.

Ratchet grinned in anticipation. "_Oh yeah..._ Who needs an army when we've got a Clank!"

{()}

The ground began to shake in a rhythmic pattern, the assembled blarg soldiers stopping what they were doing almost simultaneously as the earth rumbling noise began to get closer. Personal weapons were checked, cannons loaded and made ready to fire while squads of elite troops and combat vehicles formed battle lines to face in the direction of the potential foe. Their orders were clear; the three interlopers running loose on this planet must be terminated at all costs if their supreme leader's master plan was to succeed. Suddenly, a line of storage silos exploded in the shadow of the water treatment plant; a wall of choking dust and debris blanketing the area and making it nigh impossible to see. The thudding sounds continued, almost indistinguishable from the scores of racing hearts as orders were shouted out and dozens of men anticipated the fight to come with arms borne aloft.

As the dust clouds began to settle, a hulking shape swam into focus as it stepped through the mist of its own destruction; a nigh fifty foot tall, heavily-armoured giant robot with glowing green optics and cut down artillery pieces mounted on each arm. Halting its stride with the same terrible ground shaking steps, there was a pregnant silence for several long moments as both sides eyed each other warily with not a small amount of fear on the organics' part. And then a golden-furred feline face popped up from behind one of the behemoth's shoulders, gloved hands cupped to his mouth as he shouted to the soldiers below.

"HEY FELLAS, GUESS WHAT?! MINES BIGGER!"

Ellen merely facepalmed at the lombax's taunt from astride her perch on Giant Clank's back. "Oh for the love of God... Clank, would you mind clearing the way?"

The extra large robot slammed his fists together with an audible boom that echoed across the valley, his rumbling voice sounding a death knell for the army before him. "As the expression goes, I shall proceed to lay the smack down upon these miscreants."

And then he charged.

* * *

**Cliff-hanger! Some heavy metal mayhem coming up in part two, as well as the final confrontation and conclusion to this story that you won****'****t want to miss. See you then!**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	25. Chapter 25: Homecoming Part II

**Author****'****s note:**

**And so the wait is over at long last; almost five and a half months worth of work building towards this moment. This chapter really got away from me; I wanted to make it an epic finale to this story, but I certainly didn****'****t expect it to be probably the single longest piece I****'****ve ever written. Frankly, I****'****m amazed I managed to finish on time at all considering all the extra shifts I****'****ve had to put in on the run up to Christmas; along with attempting to turn what is essentially a running boss battle into a cohesive chapter. Nevertheless, the end result is here, and hopefully you****'****ll find it to be a suitable conclusion to this story.**

**Also before I forget, I****'****ve tried experimenting with music in this chapter (Thanks dablackwyrm for your input) and have put in several links in bold for the appropriate tracks that will hopefully show up once this is posted and not cut off half way. Simply copy and paste the link address into a new tab on your browser and play the track for the section until it either ends or the prompt to stop pops up in the story. I know it****'****s not 100%, but it was kind of a last minute thing for me. If anyone has any suggestions for music to go with any of the other chapters, please let me know and I****'****ll place in the appropriate links once I start going back over the story. Thanks again everyone, and please enjoy the chapter. **

**Review replies:**

**AustinGamer117 - Me neither, it doesn****'****t seem the long ago that I posted the first chapter on a whim and now here we are. I****'****m truly grateful for the compliments, and your help when I was suffering a major case of writer****'****s block; I****'****ll endeavour to live up to your expectations for the sequel and beyond. Thank you.**

**ReginaDC21 - Hey, great to hear from you again. If working in retail has taught me anything, it****'****s that even ****'****mature****'**** adults are capable of acting like spoilt toddlers with a frightening degree of regularity when things don****'****t go their way; I expect you****'****ve seen the same more often than not. Seriously though, my thoughts are with you and I can only hope that whatever issues your aunts have can be resolved quickly and sensibly without the need to escalate things further.**

**Heh, I don****'****t think my first reaction was printable either. Much as I****'****d love to have Ratchet say something along those lines, unfortunately the T rating requires me to damp it down. Though whether he****'****s referring to Giant Clank or something else is up for interpretation****…**

**I think we all have days when we just feel the urge to casually smack the stupid out of people. You know, you probably should have just told her that you were cosplaying for the store in order to promote a new game release just to see what her reaction would be; Imagine how much you could get away with****…**** In any case, thanks again, and say hi to your sister for me; I wish you both the best for the foreseeable future.**

**Shannyrox101 - Aw thanks, I****'****m flattered you think so highly of my story. Hope you like the new chapter.**

**dablackwyrm - Sorry to keep you waiting so long, but at least you****'****ve got a mechanised brawl to look forward to this chapter. I did try to upscale the threat to compensate for Ellen being along for the final battle and to address several plot holes with the game. Seriously, why didn****'****t anyone try to shoot Ratchet down in an unarmed spaceship rather than waiting for him to get groundside where he can unleash enough firepower to rival a third world army? Glad you like the fan art as much as I have, and can only hope you****'****ll like this chapter too.**

**Firestar5277 - Why thank you, I****'****m happy I could re-ignite your interest in one of my favourite game series. I have tried to keep both Ratchet and Clank within character, as well as making sure Ellen was neither a Mary Sue or a nuisance. Believe me, it wasn****'****t easy, but the fact you approve is evidence enough that I****'****m on the right track. Thanks again.**

**destiny - Thank you, I****'****m just glad I could inspire you to stat writing yourself. The best thing you can do is to jot down a little every so often at your own pace. School, work, and the commitments of everyday life are the boon of many authors, so just take your time and don****'****t worry about trying to rush or maintain an unworkable schedule. You might even find that creative writing in the form of fan fiction might help improve your schoolwork in terms of gradually increasing the amount you can write flowingly in a set period of time; especially useful for exams and timed essays. If you ever have questions or need help with regards to your story, feel free to drop me a line and I****'****ll do what I can. Take care, and good luck with your future story.**

**zenith88 - Thank you once again, hope you like this second half as much as the first.**

**Sonachugirl - It did seem like the right place to put a stop on things. Ideally I****'****d like to have made one massive chapter to finish the story, but this is starting to seem more and more like the better option now I think about it. I do try to keep to my scheduled update so as to not disappoint anyone, but as you said, real life tends to throw a spanner in the works more often than not. Thanks for pointing out the mistake, I****'****d rather more people did so I can go back and fix them; something I intend to do properly once this story is finished. Hopefully the boss fight will live up to your expectations and not disappoint. Thanks again.**

**Guest- Heh, I might be able to arrange that. You'll just have to read to the end in order to find out…**

**Three new favourites this week courtesy of Shannyrox101, Viper001, and pwgriffen. I know I've said it before, but thank you all for your continued support; I honestly wouldn't be here without the dedication, enthusiasm, and occasional prod from you wonderful people to keep my procrastinating self going, and to ensure the story is seen through to it's conclusion. **

**Any form of feedback would be appreciated, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**It****'****s finally here, Chapter 25 and the concluding part of this story. Lets do this.**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 25: **

**Homecoming Part II**

* * *

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.741 Galactic calendar**

**8:07pm local time**

(Begin playback track 1: Time Crisis 3 OST - Stage 2-2) ( watch?v=DJeKT24Ke68&amp;index=7&amp;list=PL6cI95LFuLpWIx2jTY-U-1jPkvuxE0R7H)

"Open fire!"

Ellen wasn't sure which of the blarg had screamed out the command, but right now it seemed kind of irrelevant considering the sheer amount of firepower being directed their way. Squads of troops blazed away ineffectively, auto-cannons mounted on tracked chassis' thundered explosive rounds repetitively, and air support unleashed devastating high intensity energy blasts that could cleave through most targets with ease. Yet despite all that, it was merely an inconvenience for the hulking behemoth bearing down on them with a loping stride; the momentum a mere prelude to drop kicking the nearest tank into an unfortunate dropship and detonating with a combined force that plucked several soldiers straight out of the air. Even as the initial frontline began to pull back from the sudden assault, Giant Clank kept the pressure on with a veritable barrage of rockets blanketing the narrow chokepoint formed between the outlying buildings of the water treatment plant.

Another tank soon lay shattered in his wake, the broken bodies of elite blarg infantry littering the transformed war machine's trail of destruction as he continued to stride forth. targeting another dropship, he failed to notice the squad of spec ops descending from above and behind on pillars of flame. Fortunately however his organic passengers did, acting as a close range defence for their big metal friend with Blaster and Tesla Claw inflicting casualties while keeping the rest of the potential saboteurs at bay. A thrown punch went straight through the hull plating of another blarg transport vessel like tin foil, fuel tanks exploding and allowing the twisted wreckage to fall to the ground where it was soon crushed underfoot. With no more heavy weapons to aid them, the tattered remnants of the dwindling blarg special forces company retreated around the corner with a rampaging giant robot following close behind.

The remaining two tanks formed the basis of a second defensive line, infantry scattered in a loose skirmishing formation alongside them while more dropships hung back to provide fire support from the rear; a wall of steel to provide a last stand against the overwhelming juggernaut. That idea was crushed in the literal sense by a thrown storage silo dropping from the sky to flatten one of the armoured vehicles and any unfortunate blarg stood nearby; the one responsible clearing the edge of a condensation tower with thundering steps and arm-mounted rocket launchers deployed. The massed army redoubled their efforts; a combination of fanatical devotion and sheer desperation lending them strength as they continued to pound away with everything in their arsenal at the towering titan before them.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Giant Clank wasn't indestructible. Several lance of high intensity energy weapons had already scorched and even punctured his reinforced armour plating, and several small plates had already been blown off by the sheer number of explosives repetitively striking his frame. A concentrated barrage on a single spot would be all it took to potentially penetrate his core and offline him for good, meaning that he needed to end this battle quickly. Using an arm to shield himself, the lumbering war machine pushed through the firestorm to close the gap; motes of light seeming to gather around his chest plate as he began to channel the extensive energy in his core. Sensing something bad was about to happen, the last tank pilot threw his machine into reverse and began to back off as the surrounding area dulled to grey before pulsing to a deep shade of scarlet.

Having experienced the phenomenon before, Ratchet and Ellen ducked down with eyes screwed shut as the atomic blast shot forth in a glowing ball of blue energy; detonating on impact with the tracked vehicle and rupturing everything, organic or otherwise, in the vicinity. A chain reaction of explosions lit up the enclosed area, fuel and ammunition adding to the cacophony of destruction that not only annihilated the blarg formation where they stood, but also blew a wall of storage silos to pieces; clearing a path straight to the huge ground-based dish of the satellite uplink station beyond. Traipsing through the blazing wreckage, Giant Clank ate up the distance with each stride; leaving the water treatment plant and several squashed horny toads behind him as he reached the base of the station and began to climb the wide ramp up to the dish basin.

(End playback track 1)

The satellite relay station was a large bowl-shaped structure built into a shallow gorge, with openings on three sides and banks of parabolic antennas lining the perimeter. Considering it was the most advanced array for interstellar communications on the entire planet, it was the obvious choice for the blarg to co-opt in aligning their super-powered orbital death platform. "Do you think we could shut down the Deplanetizer from here?"

Giant Clank rumbled in thought at Ellen's question, glowing green optics taking in the surrounding equipment before replying. "I do not know, but I certainly will not be able to do so in this form. Perhaps we should-" A barrage of missiles rained down from the sky, cutting him off mid-sentence and forcing his companions to duck as the explosions tore swathes out of the structure.

"I think not."

Rising from his braced crouch, the oversized silver robot looked up to see a similarly statured, black-painted battle mech drop down onto the remains of the relay station using a trio of thrusters to slow its approach. The blarg machine couldn't be any more different to Clank's transformed visage. Tri-pincer hands tipped a pair of thick-panelled arms, connected to a hulking torso borne aloft by an anti-gravity drive core considering it had no legs. Twin gun barrels protruded from the chest, though there was little doubt the mech was armed to the teeth with even more concealed weaponry considering who was visible at the controls beneath a reinforced, bulbous dome canopy that passed for the machine's head.

"_Drek..._" Ratchet seemed to squeeze more loathing and hatred into that single word than most people managed in an entire lifetime, something that didn't escape the attention of the smugly grinning supreme leader of the blarg.

"In the flesh... Or rather, in the _ludicrously_ expensive giant fighting robot suit. Did you _really_ think it was going to be that easy?" Drek chuckled darkly. "Ironic, isn't it? After _all_ the trouble you've gone through, you're about to _die_ right where you started." He sniffled mockingly while wiping away a false tear. "It's... so poetic."

If looks could kill, Ellen's would probably melt through a battleship's hull plating. "Not as poetic as me shoving my boot up your ass. I haven't spent the last three days running around the galaxy, getting shot at, just so some midget with a Napoleon complex can blow up my friend's home planet!"

Ratchet's eyes hardened; the usual mirthful warmth replaced with steeled determination as he pointed at the cause of all their woes. "You heard her, Clank. This ends right here!"

The Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman's features settled into a malicious grin as he gripped the control columns on either side of his cockpit. "On the contrary, we're _just_ getting _started._"

(Begin playback track 2: Time Crisis 2 OST - Stage 3 - Wild Dog's Theme) ( watch?v=qGlr9T0Xyqw&amp;index=7&amp;list=PLEBE25503D43AA4C2)

It wasn't clear who fired first; the air rent with plumes of smoke as heavy rockets and sleek missiles were exchanged across the ruined station. Drek had the advantage of possessing a shiny new mech compared to the silver robot's already battered frame, meaning that the blarg leader could simply sit back and win by attrition should he wish. Knowing he had to take the fight to the black-painted machine, Giant Clank hunched down briefly before leaping into the air over another missile salvo with his fist cocked and ready to slam down into his opponent's 'face' at the conclusion of his arc, only to drive a deep indentation into the platform instead as the Drek-mech danced back at the last second.

A clawed pincer swung over Giant Clank's head as he ducked, an answering rising uppercut of his own staggering the hovering mech and opening it up to a flurry of punches that pummelled it back into one of the few still standing curved walls of the station's surrounding dish bowl; leaving the rattled pilot stunned. Taking advantage, the large silver robot channelled what energy he had left to spare into a second, albeit weaker, atomic blast that engulfed his opponent and blew away what few structures were still standing in their makeshift arena. Narrowing his optics in an effort to penetrate the thick cloud of dust and debris kicked up by the explosion, the armoured behemoth failed to spot the pair of pincer-tipped claws dig into his shoulder guards until it was too late as the cosmetically damaged, but otherwise intact Drek-mech made its survival known.

Picking him up with surprising strength for such comparatively thin arms, the black-painted battle machine swung his opponent around once, twice, three times before finally letting him fly across the arena; the scarred silver robot twisting in mid-air to prevent his passengers getting squashed as he hit the deck hard. Sparks flew as the squeal of metal on metal filled the air, loose plating breaking off as Giant Clank slewed to a halt just before he could topple over the edge of the platform.

"Is everyone alright?"

Ellen was the first to answer her extra large friend's query amidst laboured breathing. "I'll let you know... once I've finished... emptying my stomach."

Ratchet on the other hand was more concerned about the fight at hand. "We're fine; now get up and kick this guy's ass before he tries something else!"

Once Giant Clank had climbed unsteadily to his feet, the three found Drek on the opposite side of the platform once again; apparently deep in thought considering the way he was rubbing his chin. "Still moving after all that? Hmmm... You might have been useful to me _after all._"

Having regained his balance, the transformed silver robot glared at the blarg leader with narrowed optics. "Has your brain suffered a malfunction, or do you honestly believe that I would follow any sentient being who is willing to destroy so many homes and livelihoods in pursuit of their goals?"

The short-statured blarg stared blankly at him for a moment before sighing theatrically. "Pity, you would have made a fine asset. Too bad you chose the _wrong side._"

With the flick of a button, the barrel on one of the mech's chest guns lengthened and a multi-coloured beam of light struck his opponent square in the chest; turning Giant Clank into just plain ordinary Clank within seconds. The suddenly top heavy robot tried to balance the two organics perched on his shoulders only to finally collapse in an undignified heap under their combined weight. "Well now that our business in concluded, I've got a planet to annihilate. Ta-ta!"

The Drek-mech launched itself backwards off of the ruins of the uplink station and used the built in thrusters to stay airborne as the blarg leader made his getaway; precisely targeted missiles striking the chain of hovering satellite dishes on his route and rendering them unstable. "He's going for the Deplanetizer! C'mon, we gotta go!"

Ellen needed no more motivation as Ratchet hauled her to her feet, a thoroughly spent Clank safely nestled in his regular spot on the lombax's back as they ran towards the edge of the platform. By some crazy stroke of luck, there was a Gadgetron vending machine inexplicably still standing amongst the debris; the two spending every bolt they had left to replenish part of their ammo reserves before taking the plunge off the station turned arena in hot pursuit.

A conveniently placed set of Versa-Targets allowed the pair to swing out on to the broken satellite dishes and use them as an impromptu shortcut to continue the chase. Damaged as they were though, the temporary platforms couldn't handle the extra weight, and it quickly became a race against time to reach the next as each one began to lose what power they had left and dropped into the canyon below. Both Swingshot and Grapple Gun were put to the test as Ratchet and Ellen cleared one bank of auxiliary dishes after another at a breakneck pace that left no margin for error. Swinging past the third set, the duo soon found themselves soon found themselves landing on a wide mostly flat, raised rocky plateau free of any plant life or artificial structures. Unless you count the hovering battle mech waiting for them of course.

Drek opened fire almost as soon as they had touched down on solid ground again, a constant stream of missiles bracketing the pair and forcing them to split apart. Ratchet quickly went to work with his Devastator, frankly unable to miss such a large target even as its blarg pilot back-peddled while circling in order to keep him in sight. With the focus temporarily not on her, Ellen reactivated her Drone Device to act as a shield while she tossed out a few canisters from her Glove of Doom to even the odds; the dinky kamikaze drones hatching from their 'eggs' and making a beeline straight for the much larger machine. It was just as the lombax got close enough to warrant the use of his Tesla Claw when the Drek-mech changed tactics; the left claw hand folding back upon the arm to reveal the gaping maw of a ridiculously huge mortar that promptly launched a spherical shell bigger than either of its potential targets put together.

Backflipping away at the last second, Ratchet barely escaped the scorching shockwave that spread out from the bomb's impact to encompass the entire plateau. Ellen swore profusely, but managed an awkward dive over the incendiary blast that singed her clothing and left her bruised. Still, at least she didn't share the same fate as her vaporised drones; the entire attack force having been wiped out alongside her defensive screen.

A second incoming mortar shell had the redhead scrambling to her feet and running even as Ratchet continued to press home his attack; crackling lightning lashing out at the imposing metal behemoth in an effort to find a chink in the thick armour plating while nimbly staying aloft long enough to escape the coming blast as the human added full auto machine pistol bursts of her own. One of them must have hit something vital, because the mech lurched backwards briefly before Drek could bring it back under control; thrusters propelling it back out of range while the left hand changed back into a claw, the right recessing to reveal glowing blue concentric rings around a pulsing central spike with a growing ball of energy at the tip.

"RUN!"

Both human and lombax sprinted over the uneven ground in the opposite direction as the black-painted war machine recoiled and a ball of volatile, super-condensed plasma shot forth from its cannon to strike the centre of the battlefield in a blinding flash of light. The quite literally earth-shattering blast had fractured the raised plateau into several very unstable islets that began to crumble almost straight away, and would have sent Ratchet and Ellen flying over the edge had they not hit the dirt at the last possible moment. Staggering to their feet, the two could barely keep upright as their portion of the plateau began to tilt sideways; the Drek-mech disappearing over the horizon as they leapt and stumbled from one disintegrating islet to the next.

"What the hell... was that thing? ...It's almost like... that bomb... Clank used." Ellen barely managed to vocalise her question between sucking in breaths of air, tiring legs being pushed to their limits as the pair traversed ground that was starting to become vertical with each passing second.

"I would hazard that it is a more advanced version based off of my own original design. I was created in a blarg facility after all." Clank's hypothesis made about as much sense as anything else, but considering that their only escape route was over a chain of yet more gutted satellite dishes, the two organics were far too preoccupied with not dying to debate the weapon's origins.

Soon to be collapsing platforms and oddly placed Versa-Targets were the order of the day once again; Ellen struggling to keep pace with the much faster lombax beside her as she tried not to think too hard about the ruined dishes being suspended hundreds of feet above the valley floor below. Drek lay in wait once again at the end of the trail, this time on a much smaller plateau with a lot less room to manoeuvre for both parties; something the blarg leader took full advantage of as the mortar arm came out to play once again. This time the duo were ready; Ratchet getting in close where his Tesla Claw could do the most damage, while Ellen plugged away with her Blaster from medium range at the armoured glass dome in order to keep the short-statured pilot distracted and off balance.

Teeth grit in frustration at his failure to eliminate the two pests, Drek decided to change tactics once again. Backing away with pincer hands sliding back into place, the protruding armoured 'belt' around the black-painted mech's waist began to suddenly rotate at a rapid pace and revealed circular ports that began to spit out something familiar. Swathes of spiked floating mines spread out in a haphazard fashion that soon began to cover the plateau; both lombax and human being forced to choose between keeping the explosives from overwhelming them and keeping up the pressure on the war machine before them as it continued to circle the area. Having detonated a cluster of mines nearby, and with Drek apparently not willing to shoot at them with anything else just yet, Ellen took the opportunity to use the one missile she had managed to purchase for her Visibomb Gun; making sure to carefully lead her target before pulling the trigger.

The guided explosive warhead struck the transparent dome canopy just underneath where Drek stood in his enclosed cockpit; the force of impact causing cracks to spider web across a small portion, but otherwise causing little visible damage beyond riling up the pilot. The belt ceased rotating almost instantly; ejection ports retracting as the superficially damaged, yet still capable mech backed off with its right arm transforming once again into a heavy plasma cannon against the silhouette of the rising moon. Knowing what was coming, the human and lombax ran in the opposite direction in order to escape the coming blast; dropping prone just before the launched ball of condensed energy hit the plateau and temporarily bathed the area in a blinding white light.

As soon as the shockwave had passed over them, the pair scrambled to their feet and were moving within seconds; the newly formed islet to their immediate right crumbling to pieces even as the ground beneath them threatened to do the same. The gaps between the few surviving chunks of land was growing wider with each passing step; Ratchet having to rely upon Clank's Thruster Pack in order to boost across while Ellen put her Grapple Gun to good use in leapfrogging forwards. Drek was nowhere to be seen as they crested the last subsiding fragment of plateau, though the by now familiar trail of sparking satellite dishes near the top were a big enough hint that they weren't far behind the withdrawing blarg leader.

Scrambling across the rapidly failing platforms before they could plummet to the canyon below, it quickly became apparent that the trail wasn't leading to another plateau, but rather to something they had hoped never to see. Holding station at a surprisingly low altitude for such an imposing construct was an expansive circular platform that was big enough to park one of the blarg's own warships, held aloft by a quartet of massive engine pods attached to the main body via heavy duty girders set in a cross pattern. The entire structure was clearly geared towards supporting the ridiculously huge cannon that was as long as a moderate office building was tall protruding from below the centre, and flanked by two smaller condenser tubes with superconducting magnetic rings around the base; no doubt for accelerating the projectile to ridiculous speeds before exiting the barrel for maximum effect.

The Deplanetizer was already in position and no doubt ready for deployment; Drek having beaten them there and already positioned his battle mech dead centre on the observation deck waiting for them to come to him. There was no going back now, not that there was any chance of that in the first place given that their route was collapsing underfoot; the last satellite dish collapsing before they could set foot on it and forcing the pair to make a last second leap of faith. Fortunately a well placed Versa-Target saved their lives, allowing them to swing up on to the orbital weapon platform and tumble onto a landing pad protruding from the edge. Picking themselves up, the duo were instantly on alert as the black-painted war machine slowly moved forward to box them in, while Drek's voice was broadcast on exterior speakers.

(End playback track 2)

"That's _far enough._ You know, I'm almost glad you're still alive, so you can witness my greatest triumph!" A section of the platform between them recessed into the metal frame work below, before a silver turtle shell-like shallow dome rose up to occupy the space. "Once I step on this ignition switch, a countdown will commence; the end of which signals the _destruction_ of your pitiful world."

The three companions found their attention briefly flickering to the presumably covered activation switch not thirty yards away, Clank making a last ditch bid to beseech the blarg leader into giving up. "Please, it is not too late to stop this madness. There must be another way to make a home for your people."

Oddly enough, he didn't look too convinced; fists clenched with a snarl on his lips as he ground out his response. "You _think_ that's what this is _about?!_" Taking a breath to compose himself, Drek continued to monologue in his usual calm and collected manner with just a hint of malice entering his voice. "_Who_ do you think polluted our last world? _I did!_ This is about one thing and one thing only; _cash,_ and lots of it! You see, I've been _paid_ for every square inch of my new world. Once the inhabitants move in, I will begin polluting this world as well; then the whole thing starts _all over again._ Brilliant, isn't it?"

Incensed by the blarg leader's little speech, Ratchet looked like he was about ready to tear him apart, while Ellen's eyes blazed with enough anger to cause spontaneous combustion as she responded. "You've ruined countless lives, destroyed entire ecosystems, and torn up half the galaxy just for a get rich quick scam?!"

Drek glared at her with a vicious grin plastered on his face. "On the contrary, this is my meal ticket for life. With each planet extinguished, the real estate value on my newly constructed world increases _tenfold_ for every plot of land sold!"

Ellen shook her head in frustration at the blarg's callousness. "And what happens when you run out of planets to strip for parts? Even if you succeeded here today, you wouldn't be able to pull off the same trick more than twice without rendering the galaxy a lifeless void."

The supreme leader of the blarg chuckled darkly. "Ah, but you see that is where you are wrong... my dear, naive, _human._"

Her blood ran cold. No one else on their travels knew her species other than her two companions, and that was only because she had told them directly. _'So how...?'_

Drek watched the horrified realisation dawn in her eyes with a sense of grim satisfaction as he continued. "_Yes..._ You see, six months ago we launched several deep space probes equipped with gravimetric warp drives to search star clusters in nearby galaxies for... _investment_ opportunities. Imagine my surprise when one reported on a mostly empty system a few hundred light-years away, with only a single life-bearing planet occupied by an inferior bipedal species similar to primitive markazians; a planet the inhabitants call... _Earth._ From what data the probe sent back before its unfortunate demise, your planet along with its neighbours has all the components we need to build anew once more into something more... _suitable_ for occupation."

It all made sense now. The sudden 'meteor' strike was really a space probe, the arcing energy tendrils tearing through her that night being the result of a malfunctioning warp drive that somehow dropped her on a different planet in another galaxy altogether; in all likelihood close to where the probe made its original jump. The blarg knew where Earth was, and the blue planet was next on the their list for conquest unless Drek was stopped right here, right now. Ratchet's gaze met her own; emerald eyes conveying much the same message as the redhead's determined glare. This battle wasn't just about Veldin anymore, but for both their worlds; a battle neither intended to lose. Even if it ultimately cost them their lives.

"Not gonna happen Drek. If you wanna destroy our planets then you'll have to get past us first!" Ellen nodded her affirmation of the lombax's words with balled fists as she stepped alongside him, Clank narrowing his optics in a rare show of pure anger as the self-proclaimed Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman snorted in amusement.

(Begin track 3 playback - Time Crisis 2 OST - Stage 3 - Final) ( watch?v=YnHYij5lREk&amp;index=8&amp;list=PLEBE25503D43AA4C2)

"Such heroic _nonsense._ Enjoy it while you can..." Drek took advantage of the brief distraction to boost towards the now parting silver dome and the pressure sensitive lock protruding forth before dropping the weight of his mech on top of it."...for the next thirty seconds!"

The metal shell retracted once more and sealed tight, preventing any tampering with the ignition switch within; a reverberating industrial klaxon sounding as the Deplanetizer began to rise into the air and a computerised voice announced the time remaining till the weapon fired.

"C'mon, we have to stop that timer!" Thankfully an emergency override switch had popped up in the middle of the platform; Ratchet making a break for it with Ellen right beside him once Clank was safely in place, while Drek tried to discourage them with a missile barrage from his chest-mounted launchers.

"Hey asshole, over here!"

While his human partner kept the mech distracted for a few precious seconds with concentrated bursts of Blaster fire, Ratchet boosted forwards with the aid of Clank's thrusters; leaping over a stray missile that skimmed under him by inches followed by power slamming the pressure lock and halting the countdown with twenty-one seconds left on the clock. "Emergency override engaged; firing sequence aborted."

With the announcement from unseen speakers on the platform, Drek let the last of his opening barrage fly before charging towards the duo with a glowing orange shield surrounding his machine's base; clearly intent on running them both down. Thankfully the potentially lethal barrier must have drained a significant amount of power, because the two were able to just about outpace the looming hulk of metal on their tail as they approached the edge of the platform, only to realise that it was no longer there.

Drek had retreated to the other side of the makeshift arena with the mech's mortar arm deploying once more; the oversized spherical shell impacting the platform's centre and sending out the expected burning shockwave to sweep across the entire area. Being near the edge of the observation deck put the human and lombax at a significant disadvantage, the pair being forced to play a deadly game of leapfrog as they rapidly closed the gap with a constant stream of rockets and bullets striking the slowly circling battle mech.

The pincer arm settled back into its original configuration just as they got within spitting distance, waist-mounted ports opening as the revealed mine launchers began to spin up in the literal sense before scattering their contents over the battlefield. Switching to his Tesla Claw, Ratchet was able to carve a path through the floating explosives and give Ellen the chance to spam enough bombs up close to dent a portion of the armour and push the mech back to their landing spot; triggering the countdown once more and forcing them to double back in order to hit the override switch again.

With an additional pair of thrusters unfolding from hidden panels, the black-painted machine rose several feet into the air and continued to orbit the perimeter, while a number of what Clank recognised as oversized gadgebots with blazing red optics teleported in to swarm the beleaguered team. Ratchet pulled his surrounded partner with him as he hopped on to and rode the railings surrounding the platform with his Tesla Claw spitting forth electricity, while Ellen left a parting gift in the form of her own attack drones to even the odds. The energy barrier soon went up again, and the lombax was forced to change direction along with his human passenger as the mech bore down on them once more; a desperate deluge of bombs and faux lightning pummelling already blackened armour and making Drek reconsider as his onboard weapon systems reconfigured once more.

As Ellen finished off the dark gadgebots from her perch with a few well aimed bursts, clusters of mines were sown over the arena once more. Jumping off the rail, the pair made their way through the tide of proximity sensitive explosives and the rain of missiles bearing down on them to deliver retribution up close; the lombax relying upon his flamethrower to trip the floating bombs in order to save his dwindling supply of ammo for the real threat. More combat drones teleported in at close range, but the adrenaline fuelled pair were far too focused on their main target to pay them much heed. Ellen emptied the last of her machine pistol's rounds into a particularly cracked segment of armour before switching back to her Bomb Glove and keeping up the pressure, Ratchet following suit with his Tesla Claw as something finally began to spark underneath the thick layers of armour plating protecting the mech's chest.

With the drones snapping at their heels, neither lombax or human were able to stop Drek reactivating the countdown sequence for a third time; a scant 14 seconds giving them barely enough time to wade through the machines before they could cancel it once more with mere moments to spare. If the blarg leader had been playing around before, he certainly wasn't now. The attacks came thick and fast; constantly changing tactics catching the pair off guard as a non-stop influx of missiles, mortars, and suicidal machines kept them constantly on the defensive. It wasn't until the black-painted battle mech switched to slinging the area denial munitions at them again however that Ellen spotted an opportunity to finally turn the tables on Drek.

Equipping her Grapple Gun, the human watched the metal hook shoot forth from the device to wrap around the recessed pincer on the imposing machine's weapon arm before squeezing the trigger once more to reel herself in on the highly tensile cable. Reaching her target, Ellen clung on for dear life as Drek tried to shake her off; using her free hand to switch to her Bomb Glove and palming an explosive charge before slam dunking it down the mortar's barrel. Letting go, she tumbled awkwardly on landing, but had enough momentum to stagger into a loping run as her deposited bomb triggered the much bigger shell waiting for launch and subsequently blew the entire arm to pieces.

"Ellen, behind you!"

Her elation was short lived however, as the now one-armed mech quickly recovered and backhanded the human across the platform; feeling the bones in one arm snap like glass and a stabbing pain in her chest as she pin-wheeled a good twenty feet to land in an unconscious bloody heap.

"Ellen..."

Ratchet stared at the unmoving body of the girl he loved with an expression of pure horror; eyes wide and uncomprehending as a terrible sense of loss held his heart in a vice grip. She couldn't be dead, not after all they'd been through together and their whole lives still ahead of them. She had been his rock in his darkest moments, never once giving up on him for all his flaws, and always seeming to know the right thing to say. She had been the candle to light his way, bringing out the best in him and making him realise what he had been missing all these years in solitude. She was the one who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with; to love and to cherish above all others even to the detriment of his own well being. She had to be alive; she had to be okay...

"Aw, is the kitty _upset?_ Too bad you couldn't protect your precious _floozy,_ just like you can't protect your own home planet. But don't worry, you'll be joining her _soon._"

The turmoil within the lombax reached a breaking point; emotions condensing into a single purpose, fuelled by hatred for the snide blarg encased in the armoured mechanised shell before him. A deep animalistic growl began to rise from the back of Ratchet's throat; emerald eyes taking on the characteristics of his predatory ancestors, golden fur seeming to glow in the growing moonlight as he bristled with rage while ancient instincts began to take over.

And _that_ is when Ratchet went Super Saiyan.

With a roar that would do a lion proud, the enraged lombax charged straight at the recoiling battle mech; his Devastator unleashing the remainder of its payload before the empty launcher was tossed to one side. Flipping over a salvo of missiles sent his way, Ratchet's already fast reactions seemed doubled as he ducked and weaved through the storm; never ceasing to advance at a continuously breakneck pace. The remaining pincer hand swiped at him but was evaded with a fluid ease that frankly shouldn't be possible, vaulting on to the offending limb and using it as a springboard to leap up and bring his wrench down on the dome canopy directly above where Drek's head was. Blow after blow rained down, cracks forming and reinforced glass capable of stopping heavy weapons fire splintering under the rage fuelled assault while the pilot within frantically tried to shake him off.

Just before the lombax could raise his wrench to drive home the final blow however, the mech's remaining arm struck its intended target and sent him tumbling to the metal platform below. Turning his fall into a controlled roll on impact, Ratchet hissed with pain at what was probably broken ribs, but let adrenaline carry him to his feet as his hand went to the Quick Select on his belt and withdrew the one weapon he hoped he wouldn't need to use other than as a last resort. The brief stop over on Rilgar before making for Veldin had been for one very specific reason; to visit an unscrupulous dealer skulking around the curfewed streets he had previously encountered, who was in possession of a dubiously acquired piece of military grade hardware that he had sold to the lombax for an exorbitant price. And so it was that Ratchet found himself holding the single most powerful missile launcher in the entire galaxy; the RYNO.

Shame he wouldn't get to use it.

The blarg's supreme leader had recovered far more quickly than expected from the lightning assault. The mech's intact arm striking like a cobra to slam the lombax into the scorched platform and keep him pinned before he had a chance to finish the job; forcing the air from his aching lungs and leaving him to watch helplessly as the potent weapon flew from his grasp and bounced across the deck to land a dozen feet away.

With his cool demeanour almost entirely dissipated, Drek leaned in closer to watch his wretched opponent struggle as his machine's pincer claw tightened its grasp enough to draw blood. "A valiant effort, but ultimately futile. Why can't you just accept the inevitable and admit defeat? After all, you've got nothing left to fight for now." A borderline feral snarl escaped Ratchet's lips, anger fuelling his struggles anew until the mech lifted him up several feet and slammed him back down again; a trapped Clank being driven into his spine on impact. "Still defiant in the face of your own demise? Well, I suppose I'll just have to _break_ you before I grant you death."

{()}

Everything hurt.

Consciousness slowly returned to Ellen's fogged mind, and she almost wished it hadn't once the onset of pain hit. Heavy eyes grudgingly cracked open to reveal dull metal plating inches from her right eye, while congealed blood from the reopened gash on her head had gummed up her left. Sounds began to filter in as cognitive functions returned to life, muffled noises resolving into cries of pain and frustration mixed in with a taunting voice and the whirring of heavy machinery. As her head left the cool silver platform to look in the direction of the noises, Ellen's functioning eye experienced a sense of blurriness before settling on the one-armed black mech repeatedly pounding a lombax into the now dented deck plating.

"Ratch... et..."

Her voice was scratchy at best, bloody spittle escaping her lips as her gaze fell to the bulky, rectangular weapon lying several feet away. Even with the nanites in her bloodstream working overtime, there was no way she was in any condition to fight. But with so much at stake, it didn't matter any more. Ellen willed her body to move, the thought of what that bastard was doing to her fuzz ball driving her on as she began to crawl towards her objective; her broken arm ignored in favour of forcing her weakened body into motion. Inch by bloody inch she clawed at the battle-scarred metal on hands and knees, the fallen launcher getting closer with each agonising second as Drek continued to toy with her beau in an increasingly violent way at the lombax's angered resistance. She was so close now, fingertips brushing the edge of the trigger guard as she gave one last grunt of effort and finally had the RYNO within her grasp.

{()}

"You interlopers are like _roaches!_ I may have underestimated your persistence before, but no more. Had you given up I might have made it painless, but now I'm going to _squash_ you like a _bug!_" Drek had expected many things from his captive, but amusement wasn't one of them as the lombax in his vice grip experienced a coughing fit between his bouts of laughter. "What do you find so funny?!"

Ratchet spat some blood to one side as he cracked a wry smile. "You know what the funny thing about roaches is? They're _really_ hard to kill."

The leader of the blarg snorted in derision at the lombax's insolence. "Be that as it may; but no matter how tough you _think_ you are, _everything_ dies. Even-"

"OI! PRICK!"

Both Ratchet and Drek turned their heads to the voice's source, only for their eyes to widen at the sight before them. Wobbling precariously from a combination of wounds, fatigue, and the stupidly heavy multiple-missile launcher barely held aloft with her one good arm straining, Ellen's blood streaked face was set into an expression of grim determination. Time almost seemed to crawl from her perspective as she steadied her aim; the world moving as if underwater. The black-painted mech swivelled around to face her, torso-mounted gun barrels moving to align with her in a desperate attempt to take the human out. The still pinned down lombax, upon realising what was about to happen, could only tuck his head down to weather the coming hell storm as her finger finally squeezed the trigger.

"Stay away from my boyfriend!"

The RYNO is a heavy duty, anti-armour weapon capable of firing nine high explosive, armour piercing, independently targeting missiles simultaneously. A single salvo can in theory wipe out an entire company of tanks, or punch through a fortified bunker coated in four inches of carbonox armour plating, with a force of recoil to match. And so it was that while the contents of the launch tubes went one way, Ellen ended up skidding across the deck for several feet in the other direction; cracking her skull against the unforgiving metal in the process. Drek simply had no time to evade as the swarming barrage screamed across the short gap between them, his mech's exposed torso taking the full brunt of the barrage that tore the remaining arm from its socket and forced him back with each punishing hit until the broken machine toppled onto the landing pad where the human and lombax had originally started their confrontation.

The sudden impact also had another unintended consequence; the landing pad beneath the fallen multi-ton mech acting as part of a counterweight that swung beneath the Deplanetizer while lifting the equivalent portion of the platform on the far side around on the central axis at the same rate, rotating the huge underslung cannon in the middle at the same time. Drek struggled desperately with the controls of his mech to move out of the way, but could only scream in terror as the structure reached its peak and descended upon him like a giant hammer; smashing into the crushed machine and ejecting it into the depths of space. With no means of control, the self-proclaimed Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman was rendered helpless as the gravitational pull of the artificial planet nearby captured his floating tomb and caused it to gradually to burn up upon entering the atmosphere.

(End playback track 3)

(Begin playback track 4 - Ace Combat 5 OST - 15 Years Ago) ( watch?v=nQPntHe28O8&amp;list=PLB5A294C912C49005&amp;index=78)

Having freed himself from the now unpowered claw holding him down, Ratchet limped across to where his downed partner lay sprawled across the observation deck with the still smoking RYNO discarded a few yards away. "Ellen?" He slumped to his knees beside her as one gloved hand wiped some of the bloody grime from her face while the other supported the back of her neck. "C'mon, babe! Talk to me!"

His answer was an aggravated groan, crystal blue eyes groggily opening to focus on relieved Emerald orbs inches from her face. "Ratchet...? Did... we win?"

The lombax whooped with joy as his arms enveloped her in a joyous hug while nuzzling her cheek, much to her protest at the stabbing pains shooting up her broken arm. Once he had sufficiently calmed down, Ratchet pulled back to look her in the eyes once more with a warm smile. "Yeah, we won babe. But you gotta promise me you'll never pull anything like that again. I thought I'd lost you for good this time!"

Ellen snorted with mirth. "Can't promise that fuzz ball. Comes with the territory, remember? But... now that we're done, I'm... just going to close my eyes for a few minutes."

Ratchet blinked in confusion. "Wait, you're gonna just take a nap right there? Aren't you kinda uncomfortable like that?"

She mumbled incoherently for a moment before nuzzling into his hand. "Don't care. Tired."

The lombax chuckled for a moment before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Y'know, it gets pretty cold at night out here. Maybe we ought to... keep each other warm."

A single eye cracked open to regard him with amusement. "And how do you suppose we should do that, fuzz ball?"

Gloved fingers tenderly cupped her jaw as his face hovered inches from her own. "Well, I can think of one way."

Their lips met with an unbridled passion as the pale moonlight shone down on them from above; the intensity enough to rouse the fatigued human and revitalise her battered frame as a pale-skinned arm wrapped around the nape of his neck and pulled him closer still. Ellen melted into the kiss with a growing warmth in her heart, the tension of the last several hours washing away in the shared passion she had with the lombax she had grown to love. It was finally all over; their little band of misfits triumphant against the insane odds stacked against them and the galaxy free of the blarg menace for good now that their charismatic leader was gone. It also meant the lombax and human were free to express their emotions more intimately now that the constant threat of death every waking hour had vanished, or at least until they were reminded of the other being in their immediate presence.

(End playback track 4)

"Ratchet? Ellen?"

Somewhat flustered, the young couple broke contact with flushed cheeks and more than a little reluctance on both parts as Ratchet carefully helped Ellen to stand while being mindful of her numerous injuries as she waved a hand. "Hang on a sec Clank."

Supporting each other, the two moved with a slight limping motion over to where the scuffed and battered, but otherwise functional robot was stood at the base of the now fully inverted doomsday cannon; the lombax raising a brow. "Hey buddy, what's up?"

Clank silently gestured to the now exposed ignition switch jutting from the parted silver dome nearby that Drek had previous activated repetitively; his two companions looking between it, the Deplanetizer, and the patchwork planet looming in the sky above them several times before an almost feral grin lit up Ratchet's face. "You know, this time I am thinking what you're thinking!" Turning his head slightly to catch her eye, the lombax offered his girl a wry smile. "What do you say babe, ready to end things with a bang?"

Ellen shook her head with mirth at the underlying innuendo before replying. "Well, can't say we've ever blown up something that big before. Go on you two, I'll just watch the fireworks from here."

With a spring in his step, Ratchet took off towards the protruding pressure lock with Clank already attached to his back; thrusters propelling the two up above the activation switch followed by a power slam that restarted the countdown where it left off. The entire structure rumbled as an ever expanding ball of orange energy gathered at the cannon's muzzle several storeys above; static electricity in the air making their hair stand on end and a steadily growing, whining pitch emitting from the conductors around the weapon's base as the firing sequence reached its climax.

A huge scorching beam of destruction crossed the space between the stars within seconds, piercing deep within the outer crust of the artificial planet and cutting into the molten core where the raw, untamed energies mixed to create perhaps the single most volatile explosion in galactic history. A blinding white light engulfed the area, followed almost immediately by a sonic boom inducing shockwave that knocked the three observers flat regardless of the dissipation of force through Veldin's atmosphere. Groggily standing to their feet, the lombax, human, and robot looked up just in time to witness the corona of burning debris from the destroyed world illuminating the night sky... along with the newly created meteor shower lighting up the atmosphere as it rapidly descended towards them.

"Well _that_ can't be good."

There was nowhere to run, and no time to do anything other than hunker down as the first space rocks slammed into the observation deck around the Deplanetizer; a clean hit destabilising the cannon and causing the top half to topple on to one of the outlying anti-gravity engine pods which promptly ruptured into flames. The platform lurched from the sudden loss of thrust, pitching sideways at a steadily increasing angle while the entire structure began to gradually lose altitude. Ratchet and Ellen were sent tumbling down the steep surface, Clank barely holding on to the lombax's back as they desperately tried to save themselves. The human drew her Versa Blade and stabbed the button on the hilt before ramming it into the thick metal plating in order to act as a brake while her partner scrabbled for a hand hold, but nothing seemed to be enough as they got closer to the edge.

The railing circling the platform was their last hope, the fall guaranteed to kill them seeing as neither had a parachute and Clank could barely support one of his friend's weight, let alone two in his damaged condition. Ellen lost the grip on her knife, dropping faster without its aid until her one good arm caught hold of the rail right on the very lip of the now vertical structure; Ratchet following suit as a chain of explosions rocked the Deplanetizer to its foundations.

"Ellen, just hold on!"

The human could only grit her teeth as the blood drained from her arm and her hold slowly gave way under her own weight. "I can't, I'm slipping!"

Advancing arm over arm, Ratchet built up the momentum to swing across in her direction as he steadily inched closer. "Hold on babe, I'm coming!"

It was just as he was about to make the last bound to get in to range that a particularly large explosion ruptured the gravimetric warp drive in the heart of the orbital super weapon and shook the pair loose. Screams lost to the rushing wind, the human and lumbar plummeted to the planet's surface far below at an increasingly accelerated rate; Ratchet desperately trying to grab hold of the flailing human drifting further away as the superstructure above them seemed to fold in on itself momentarily before detonating with a surge of uncontrollable energy that swept forth in a vast wave.

With one of his servos damaged, Clank could barely keep his friend stable as he tried to boost closer to the human in a surely doomed attempt to save them both; the lombax stretching out his arm as far as it would go. "Grab my hand! I've almost got you!"

Fate can be so cruel.

Their fingertips barely touched as a mass of tendrils comprised of pure unadulterated energy lashed out from the ether to strike the human; her entire body convulsing with unimaginable pain as her clothing smouldered. The shock forced Ratchet to let go even with the protection provided by his insulated gloves, watching in mounting horror as the girl he loved was enveloped in a cocoon of the weird energy before a bright light blinded him; leaving nought but the scent of burnt o-zone. Scant seconds above the ground, Clank was able to manoeuvre them so that the linked pair landed awkwardly by skidding on their sides rather than pancaking the surface of Veldin.

"Ellen?"

Ratchet didn't care about their miraculous survival though, leaping to his feet in a dazed panic as he frantically searched the area around them.

"Ellen?!"

The red-headed girl was nowhere to be found; no body, no blood, no sign of her ever having existed. The lombax sank to his knees in the dusty earth with tears glistening in his eyes; fists balled and shaking with pent up grief at the gaping hole where his heart was as he threw his head back and wailed to the heavens above.

"ELLEEEENNNNNN!"

* * *

**Please don****'****t lynch me.**

**There****'****s still the epilogue to come after this, but otherwise this story is nigh enough reached the end; an ending I had planned out since the very first chapter, and necessary for what I have lined up for the sequel. Hoping everyone enjoyed the ride while it lasted, and you****'****ll stick around for the final chapter and the second instalment in this trilogy in the near future.**

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	26. Chapter 26: Epilogue

**Author****'****s note:**

**I can****'****t believe it****'****s over. It only seems like yesterday when I posted the first chapter on a whim, and now here we are nigh half a year down the road with what at the time of writing is the third longest R&amp;C story on this archive with an incredible number of reviews, follows, and favourites. Considering how much I procrastinate, it****'****s frankly a miracle I got this far at all in such a relatively short time span; though I suspect a good reason would the expectations and consistently positive feedback from you wonderful people providing the motivation I needed to se this thing through to the end.**

**On another note, it****'****s been brought to my attention that the damn links for the music in the last chapter may not be working properly depending on what platform you****'****re reading this on (thanks Dablackwyrm). I took the links from YouTube on my laptop, which probably won****'****t work on tablets and phones since they tend to use a separate app rather than a traditional web address. Needless to say I****'****ll be going back to fix this soon by posting the track names which I forgot in my rush next to each link so that you can find them using an alternate method if need be. The links still work on a desktop or laptop, but need YouTube****'****s address preceding them before pasting them in in order to work since web addresses are apparently automatically deleted when the uploaded document is converted in to a story file.**

**In any case, it****'****s been one hell of a ride and I hope you****'****ll all stick around for the second part of the trilogy once I start work again next year. Thank you all for you patience, understanding, and support throughout the duration of this story, and since this****'****ll be my last update on FF for quite a while, I wish you all a merry Christmas in advance. Take care everyone, see you next year!**

**Review replies:**

**Zenith88 - Glad you liked it, you****'****ll get to find out this chapter.**

**Nekolover3 - And so I shall on both accounts. Hope you like the ending for this story as much as the previous chapters, and thanks again, for everything; your cover, the constant stream of artwork, and your consistent reviews have become a highlight to me each week that can buoy me up when work gets me down.**

**Guest - I didn****'****t intend to, from what I****'****ve gathered it****'****s pretty much a retelling of the first story, but re-imagined with elements from Up Your Arsenal such as the galactic rangers. I****'****d probably have to see it first before I could make a solid decision.**

**dablackwyrm - Heh, I****'****m guessing you liked the chapter then? Al and family will be back, but probably not until the third part of the trilogy other than maybe a few cameo appearances since I can****'****t find a way to justify moving them to the Bogon galaxy and they****'****ll be playing a more significant role once Nefarious shows up in Solana. I****'****m working on sorting out the music issue, but I don****'****t think it****'****ll work on mobiles any way due to the YouTube app on most phones not playing while minimised. The only way around it would be to download the requisite tracks and play them on the built in MP3 in the background while you read, sorry about that.**

**Br2nd66 - I fully intend to in the new year as soon as I****'****ve had a break. That****'****s actually a pretty good guess****…****but wrong, I****'****m afraid. You****'****ll just have to read on to find out!**

**Firestar5277 - Ellen****'****s disappearance will be elaborated upon in this final chapter, hopefully in a way that will make sense despite the BS science I****'****m pulling to explain how it works without having delve too deep. I think a lot of people like Super Saiyan Ratchet; personally I think it should be a cheat skin for a future R&amp;C game, with a flaming battle aura when he gets enraged. Could you **_**imagine**_** the amount of damage that lombax could do with a Kamehameha? Actually, I think there****'****s a story in there somewhere perhaps for future use****…**** Thanks for reviewing.**

**destiny - I****'****m glad you like the chapter; It is a bit sad after all they****'****ve gone through together, but necessary to set up for the sequel. Regardless of where she might be, I don****'****t think there****'****s a force strong enough to stop Ratchet from finding Ellen, no matter how long it might take.**

**Kboyer36 - Thanks, I personally found Drek a frustrating boss battle due to the lack of Ratchet****'****s health, ineffective weapons, and lack of checkpoints paired with Drek****'****s spam attacks and stupidly strong armour if you didn****'****t have the RYNO to hand. I know that was a bit of an evil way to end the chapter, but most cliff hangers usually are. I will, as you said, be wrapping things up this chapter and reveal just what happened to Ellen; tidying up some loose ends before this story ends and eventual production on the sequel begins next year. See you then!**

**Sonachugirl - Heh, I did get carried away just a bit with the last chapter in terms of action and drama, but seriously, I****'****m glad you liked it; especially Super Saiyan Ratchet. I always thought the end of the boss battle was a bit anticlimactic once it finished, so I kind of embellished a bit to make it more****…****epic as a finale. Thanks again, and hope you enjoy this last chapter of Time Heals All as much as the rest.**

**Two more favourites and follows this week on the part of Polymon and Dablackwyrm, and quite possibly the last seeing as this story is now finished for all intents and purposes. My thanks to you, and everyone else who has by proxy made this story possible; from those hanging on every word since the beginning, to those just having a casual read, you've all kept this story alive in one shape or form.**

**If you have any suggestions for fixes in this story or ideas for the sequel I****'****d like to hear from you, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.**

**If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account.**

**Well, this is the end at last. Chapter 26 and the true ending for this story. For now****…**

**\- RevenantReaper337**

**Disclaimer:**

**Ratchet &amp; Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.**

'_Thoughts__'_

_Flashbacks and inflections on words_

"Speech"

* * *

**Chapter 26: **

**Epilogue**

* * *

**Kyzil Plateau, Veldin**

**Solana Galaxy**

**G2.16.747 Galactic calendar**

**10:32am local time**

It had been just under a week since the final battle in the skies over Veldin, and Ratchet had barely gotten a wink of sleep. Dark bags hung beneath tired, listless green eyes as he stared out at the debris field scattered over the landscape, and the equally spread out group of volunteers sifting through the remains with a single purpose. After the Deplanetizer had come crashing spectacularly down to earth, the super weapon had disintegrated into a ridiculous number of fragments ranging from building-sized chunks to pieces no bigger than a finger nail that spread out over a good twenty square miles. Thankfully no one was living in the affected area, but coupled with the meteor shower from the exploding patchwork planet in close orbit and the locals had a major clean up operation on their hands.

The blarg fleet had long since retreated, disappeared along with the bulk of their remaining forces. Abandoning their facilities and escaping into dark space, while local militia and hired mercenary bands dealt with the fanatical level of opposition put up by pockets of resistance on several planets. Once the full story had come to light, the people of the galaxy were shocked at just how close they had come to seeing their planets wiped out by Drek's insidious scheme; as well as the near suicidal bravery and determination displayed by three unlikely heroes in a desperate bid to prevent it coming to fruition. There had been calls by from many quarters for galactic recognition for the lombax, as well as his robot and 'markazian' companions; parades organised, press conferences slated, gala events in the works. Ratchet cared for none of it; not when he was so empty inside. Not when the girl he loved had been torn away from his grasp so cruelly.

Not until he was whole again.

His days had consisted of searching the wreckage from dusk till dawn; eating and resting for only a few short hours, and only then due to Clank's insistence as he hunted desperately for some clue as to Ellen's fate. The diminutive robot had placed a number of calls to their mutual acquaintances, and within twenty-four hours there were whole swathes of people on site ready to lend a hand. Among those the trio had met in person, helped indirectly, or who had just plain been moved by the lombax's plight was Al and his siblings, who were all especially upset at the loss of someone they considered a close friend. It was with the technical expertise supplied by the Roboshack trio that things finally began to progress; the now organised search parties supplemented by bio scans and ground penetrating sonar that helped speed things up by a significant amount.

In fact, it was Bob's excited shout that drew Ratchet's attention; a sudden spike in hope propelling him towards the store owner on sprung heels as a number of onlookers gathered around. "There it is again! Al, see if ya kin triangulate the signal."

Both brothers carefully paced back and forth over a small stretch where a chunk of the observation platform was now half-buried in the compacted dirt of the planet's surface; their eyes glued to the bulky Geiger counter-like devices being swept in a wide arc and the noises they made as the readouts peaked. "What's going on?! Did they find her?!"

Ed shook her head at the lombax's hurried question from where she stood alongside Clank. "Ah don't know hun, but ah sure as heck hope so. Your lil' pal here came up with a way to modify our scannin' equipment, an' the next thing we know the things're goin' crazy!"

Turning to his diminutive friend, Ratchet's expectant eyes sought answers to an unasked question; one the robot was more than happy to elaborate on. "When I was trying to locate you on Kerwan after my hails went unanswered, I was able to track both you and Ellen by following a faint trail of residual energy that matched the signature of her biometric data from a scan I conducted previously. I believed at the time that this was left over traces from the extragalactic jump that bought her here to Veldin in the first place, a theory that Drek gave credence to before his defeat. We have located several such energy pockets in the immediate area, but this is the most promising as the signature is a near certain match for Ellen's own."

As if on cue, a cry of triumph indicated that the location had been pinned down and digging equipment was rolled in as everyone carefully cut through slabs of reinforced metal plating in order to reach the source. Unfortunately their hopes were dashed as a good quarter of an hour's worth of delicate manoeuvring turned up not the human they were looking for, but one of her missing possessions. Ratchet took the scuffed and dented Versa Blade from the outstretched arm of a sympathetic cazar relief worker, who went back to work as everyone else split apart to continue the search. The lombax felt his heart sink once more, clasping the knife reverently as if fearing that it would vanish should he take eyes of it. Running his fingers along the scratched metal, he didn't even look up as a clearly saddened Clank moved to stand beside him.

"I am sorry Ratchet. I know how hard this is for you especially out of all of us." When he didn't respond, the diminutive robot vented softly before a sudden flash of inspiration struck; his processor whirling a mile a minute as he turned back to his depressed companion with optics alight. "Ratchet, might I see that Versa Blade for a moment? I believe I may have an idea."

With nothing left to lose, the lombax grudgingly passed the last physical reminder of his lost love to his much shorter metal friend. Minute servos tilted the weapon this way and that as Clank's antennae pulsed in time with his deep rooted analysis. "The signature is almost an exact match, and yet inverted in parts... Ratchet, do you remember what Ellen told us about how she appeared on Veldin in the first place?"

The lombax frowned in thought. "She mentioned something about a meteor and some weird energy surge before she blacked out, though I guess that was really a blarg probe if Drek wasn't lying. What're you... getting... at?" Realisation began to dawn as Clank nodded in affirmation.

"Indeed. Drek mentioned that the probe was equipped with a gravimetric warp drive for making precision jumps to distant star clusters; the use of which leaves a trail of subatomic particles associated with faster than light travel that can be detected with the correct equipment for a short period until they decay. Given the strong trace of these tachyons that this Versa Blade contains, it is logical to assume that they were charged more recently compared to the residual energy Ellen gave off as a result of her exposure to a fresh detonation from a gravimetric warp drive of similar build quality. We witnessed a similar phenomenon to that which she described just before her disappearance, right down to the tendrils of energy that enveloped her form."

Ratchet's heart leapt into his throat at the insinuation. "You mean, when the Deplanetizer blew up..."

"The drive core that allowed faster than light travel reached critical mass, and released a great deal of tachyons that theoretically reacted with those still present in Ellen's body to create a positive charge. Upon imploding, the energy released from the gravimetric warp drive acted as a catalyst that inverted some of the affected particles from a positive charge to a negative one; using the repulsing effect to allow the affected mass to achieve faster than light travel in much the same way a teleporter disassembles and reconstructs those using it upon arriving at their destination. Since Ellen was entirely covered by tachyon energy just before her disappearance, it is conceivable that she may have been transported elsewhere in much the same manner as that in which she arrived."

The lombax was silent at the end of Clank's explanation, seemingly more buoyed up than he had been in days as he breathed out a sigh of relieved tension. "So she's still alive... But where?"

Clank shook his head. "That I do not know. The trail of tachyon energy would likely dissipate long before we could trace the end destination, and the uncontrolled nature of the jump could have potentially catapulted Ellen anywhere in the universe. That said, I am inclined to believe there is a strong probability that the influx of subatomic particles may have taken the path of least resistance as it were, and retraced the path made by the original probe that bought her here; thus transporting her to its last known coordinates."

Ratchet's eyes took on an air of focus as he voiced his conclusion. "Earth... and the only ones who know where it is are either dead, or gone elsewhere... Is there any way we can track down her home system?"

His diminutive companion paused in thought. "It is conceivable, but it would take a great deal of time and resources; possibly years, even with assistance."

A look of determination crossed his features, and the lombax stood tall with renewed purpose. "Then we better get started; 'cos once we find Earth, I'm going after her."

Clank patted him on the leg with his servo, seeing as he couldn't reach any higher, before passing back the knife. "And I shall be beside you when you do. But before that, I must inform the rest of search parties as to what has transpired."

Watching his little metal friend amble off, Ratchet turned his attention back to the Versa Blade with his thumb rubbing even strokes up the handle. Looking up to the sky, he mentally pictured the stars beyond; trying to figure out which one belonged to Earth and the one who's company he yearned for. No matter how long it took, he would find her. The girl who had captivated him since the day they had met, the one to which his sullen heart belonged. His girl from another galaxy.

"Don't worry, babe. Wherever you are in the universe, I'm coming for you. No matter how long it takes."

**Scottish Highlands, Earth**

**Milky Way Galaxy**

**August 20th 2012**

**4:37pm GMT**

Ellen stirred back into consciousness with little idea as to what had happened. Snatches of memory assailed her, accompanied by a stabbing pain in her head that compounded the everything-ache that the rest of her body appeared to be suffering right now. The running battle over Veldin, Clank's rampage, the exhausting fight with Drek, revelations bought to light, the destruction of the Deplanetizer, and then... Her eyes cracked open to reveal dull grey skies and the beginnings of what looked like rain; odd considering the last thing she remembered was plummeting to the arid surface of the almost desert-like planet before something struck her with the most excruciating pain she had ever felt and caused her to black out. As the droplets from the heavens started to grow in number, the bloody mask of grime washed from her face in rivulets and an oddly familiar furry face filled her blurry vision from just above her head.

"Barry?"

The boss-eyed goat bleated seemingly in confirmation before trying to chew on her hair, forcing the human to swat him aside and attempt to sit up. It was early evening if the sky was anything to go by; the grass in the gated field shimmering with pooled droplets as the rain began to pelt down, though it sizzled upon impact with the eight foot diameter crater devoid of any other life that she was occupying. Putting the pieces together as she stumbled out on to the already soaked ground, Ellen realised that the familiar scenery combined with the wonky-eyed goat that grazed on Mr McGregor's farm could only mean one thing.

"I'm home..."

Emotions conflicted at what should have been a joyous moment for her. Yes, she was back on Earth; but what about her friends in Solana? What about Ratchet? A nagging thought gnawed at her as she moved into the shelter provided by a copse of trees, Barry dutifully following in the hopes that he would get a treat. Was any of it real? What if she had been unconscious for days and the whole experience was just one big hallucination on the part of her already emotionally damaged mind, albeit a really convincing one? A glance at where her watch would be to check the date cast doubts on that idea, as there in its place was the solid black form of her Wrist Com; the device entirely unresponsive when she tried to activate it in the hopes of making an interstellar collect call.

The same went for her Quick Select too; any active electronics on her person appearing to have been shorted out almost like they were hit by an EMP blast from whatever force brought her back here. Thankfully the nanites in her bloodstream appeared to be the exception and were still working seeing as her various cuts and bruises were gradually healing at an accelerated rate. Perhaps her body had shielded them from the blast, or maybe they were partly organic and thus not affected in the same way. Ellen honestly didn't know, nor did it seem relevant considering the results.

"Ratchet... Clank..."

She couldn't believe they were no longer there, with a smartass remark on the lombax's part or something thought provoking from the small robot. As much as she missed her home and family, she missed them too; along with a good deal of the other quirky characters the three had run into during their short time together. To think she had gone from acquaintances to falling in love with the energetic fuzz ball in such a short time was astounding, and only compounded the ache in her chest at the possibility of never seeing him again. What chance did she have? Earth would never develop the technology capable of reaching Solana within her lifetime, and the chances of any of her new friends finding her planet were pretty damn slim to begin with since even she didn't know where it was in relation to the rest of the universe.

With a sigh of resignation, Ellen wiped away the few wet strands of hair that had plastered to her forehead and decided to focus upon what she could do as she tried to get her bearings. McGregor farm was roughly six miles due east of her house, and Barry tended to graze in the outer field on the south side with the old oak in the centre. So if she went directly west... The red head made her way to the edge of the field and awkwardly clambered over the wooden fence thanks to her still broken arm; landing awkwardly on her rear in a gathering puddle that only compounded her misery while Barry looked on at her expectantly.

"I'm wet, miserable, and having a _really_ bad day here, Barry. Sorry, you'll just have to find someone else to annoy."

The goat looked nonplussed as she turned away to walk down a tree-lined lane, using the branches to partly shelter her from the rain that was now freely pelting down. The weather took a turn for the worse as time wound on, the threatening rumble of thunder on the horizon seeming to reflect her own turbulent mood as Ellen continued to push on regardless. Compared to the extremes of weather she had faced throughout her travels around the Solana galaxy however, a bit of rain was nothing in comparison.

A few hours later by her own estimate saw Ellen pass tiredly through a copse of trees and emerge into a familiar glen with a small hillock overlooking a loch. This is where she had been when that bright light had fallen from the heavens seemingly a lifetime ago, marking the beginning of a journey that would literally send her out of this world. Cresting the rise, she took in the deep impact crater where the flaming space probe smashed into the earth; seeing no obvious signs of wreckage or anything else other than the rough box formed by a cordon of police tape around the site, along with the disturbed ground indicating a lot of recent foot traffic. Ellen frowned in thought at the scene.

Obviously the police were looking for her, but why wasn't there any evidence of the probe? If the government had gotten hold of any samples, would they want to interrogate her too once they knew she had survived? Ellen shook her now thoroughly drenched head, droplets of water flying off of her clumped hair as she forced herself to continue on. She could worry about that later; right now there were more important things to do, and people to see.

It was a fairly short walk to her family's home now, and despite the heartache at being separated from Ratchet and Clank, Ellen felt her spirits lift at the thought of seeing her parents again. Upon reaching the front gate, she unlatched it and stepped through while letting it swing back into place; making her way up the path to the front door and futilely trying to dry herself off under the porch before considering how best to make her reappearance to her no doubt frantically worried mother and father. Deciding it was simply best just to let things pan out on their own, Ellen hesitantly tried the knob and let the door ease open to reveal an empty hallway.

Just as she was about to call out however, one Kathryn Pearce stepped out of the kitchen and froze upon entering her line of sight. The china plate the older woman was wiping with a dry cloth slipped from suddenly slack fingers and smashed on the floor as she stared at the bloodied, battered, and-mud caked figure resembling her daughter on the threshold of their family home; eyes wide and skin paling as if she had seen a ghost. "...E-Ellen... My baby, is that you?!"

Ellen could only smile weakly, eyes brimming with tears from the rollercoaster of emotion brought up by the trials, trauma and tender feelings she had experienced these last few days. Discovering that humanity was not alone in the universe, helping to save an alien galaxy from a greed driven despot, and finding love in the most unexpected of places. The red-headed Scot had experienced it all; and yet, at that given moment, she could only think of one answer to give.

"Hi mum, what's for tea?"

* * *

**Well there we go, I hope that answers a majority of your questions as to what happened after the Deplanetizer went boom, and the separate situations our heroes have found themselves in. After the better part of six months spent typing this story virtually every day, I****'****ve decided to take a break from fan fiction for a while and enjoy the run up to Christmas. I****'****ll still try to respond to any PMs and reviews in whatever manner I can, but any writing I do up to the new year will be focused upon my neglected stories and other new ideas to prevent my creativity stagnating. Rest assured, I will begin work on the sequel sooner than not, but I will probably stockpile chapters in advance or update a lot slower rather than keep to such a gruelling schedule that has more often than not tired me out.**

**On another note, I will soon be posting up a guide of sorts on my profile to writing a story based on my own experiences and hindsight for the benefit of any budding writers. It****'****s more of a list of pointers really, but hopefully someone will find it useful. **

**Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they****'****re posted and/or updated.**

**Thanks for reading**

**\- RevenantReaper337**


	27. Post Story Review Replies

**Post story review replies:**

**After recently going back over and fixing all the chapters for this story, I thought it might be prudent to shift the review replies from the first chapter of Whole Again to its own page here. This will allow me to continue responding to any additional feedback, and to be honest, I probably should have done so in the first place. So, without further ado, here are the post story review replies for Time Heals All.**

* * *

**Dablackwyrm - No offence taken, I whole heartedly agree. It****'****s one of the reasons why I****'****ve taken the time necessary to write up the sequel in advance rather than churn out a chapter every week like I did before. Although it****'****s far too late now, a very merry (retrospective) Christmas to you too. Hope to hear from you soon.**

**zenith88 - Thank you, I can only hope the wait has been worth it.**

**BulletWitch1985 - Sorry to hear about your Dad, but I do understand where he****'****s coming from. You****'****d probably be best off posting a trial chapter of your story and seeing what people think before making any refinements you feel are necessary. As for your ****'****family drama****'…**** I can only hope things have turned out for the best, for both you and your sister****'****s sake. **

**I know it was a bit of a bittersweet way to end the story, but I had to let Ellen see her family again. That, and absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder****…**** As for Ellen****'****s opinion on Angela****…**** Well, you****'****ll just have to see when we get there. I can guarantee there will be fireworks though****…**

**Destiny - why thank you, I hope you like the sequel as well.**

**Sonachugirl - ****'****Best R&amp;C Fanfic of the Year****'****? Aw, you****'****re making me blush! I thought it might be an appropriate title for the sequel and can only hope it lives up to your expectations.**

**StaticBomb93 - On the plus side, at least you can read the whole story at your leisure rather than having to wait for the next instalment each week. Glad I could bring the memories back, with luck this story will be up to par as well.**

**Guest - Wait no more; it****'****s here and ready to go! Whether things turn out well for our heroes though****…**** Well, you****'****ll just have to read on.**

**Jacob Deitz - That could be an interesting idea****…**** I did actually have a plot outlined for a Sly Cooper story set during the second game; involving a paroled thief employed by Interpol as a special constable who goes undercover to infiltrate the Cooper gang. It****'****ll probably have to go on the back burner for quite a while though, seeing as this story takes priority right now.**

**Demonfox21 - Super Saiyan Ratchet was originally meant as a metaphorical expression of Ratchet****'****s rage at what happened to Ellen; not to be throwing around kamehamehas like nobodies business in a literal sense. That said, it does ascribe to my pet theory that Ratchet is in fact a genetically enhanced super soldier considering he is literally a one lombax army who can bounce off walls and take a rocket to the face without so much as batting an eyelid. Fingers crossed you****'****ll like this story too.**

**Alliance Empire - I wouldn't say it was perfect by a long shot considering my god awful grammar, which I have been recently fixing, but thank you for the sentiment. Hope you like the sequel as well.**

**GradGirl2010 - Yes they did, after oh so long. I drew a blank on the Atlantis reference though; which part did you mean exactly?**

**Lightsaviour2759 - Actually, I didn't think anyone would bother continuing to favourite, follow, or review months after the story was finished, so I'm more than happy to be proven wrong. Here's hoping you're enjoying the sequel as well.**

**Light Seeker 001 - Why, thank you! I did try to keep the Mary Sue effect to a bare minimum, though I would say that since this is fan **_**fiction, **_**one does have to suspend their disbelief just a bit sometimes and let the story run its course. I can't wait to get to Up Your Arsenal myself, especially with some of the things I've got planned. Thanks again!**

**bajy - Thank you. Hope you enjoy the sequel too.**


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